Missing Persons
by CountingCrow16
Summary: SEQUEL TO UNITED STATES OF KURT. Kurt finally sees the light at the end of the tunnel as he embarks on his senior year at Dalton with Blaine. He's ready for a normal life, with normal struggles and normal adventures. But when something happens that throws him off his guard, Kurt finds that a normal life isn't so easy to come by. Rated M for mature content. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hello :) This is the multi-chapter sequel to my story United States of Kurt. It's HIGHLY recommended that you read that story first before you start this one. I know that's kind of a tall order because USOK is pretty lengthy, but at least skim through it so you get the basic idea :)

A note about this story:

-I've been told that USOK wasn't nearly steamy enough, which I have to agree with to a certain extent. In fact, someone told me that Blaine and Kurt only kiss once or twice in the whole thing, which is an absolute tragedy. Please accept my sincere apologies! So, that being said, I have plans to make this story a lot more sexual, so be warned. There will be smut or smut lite, probably a bit of both.

I'll leave it at that. Please, please, please let me know what you think and thank you for reading!

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara.**

* * *

"Why isn't this recording? I clicked the button, like, eight times-wait, okay, there we are."

Kurt flashed a nervous smile at the computer screen.

"Hello, Kurt here again. Just doing my homework from Dr. Simmons while I have a few minutes before class. Let's see, it's August twenty-seventh, two thousand twelve and it's the first day of my senior year at Dalton Academy. Okay, so I guess technically, it's the first day of my second senior year, but last year doesn't really count. I didn't really get a whole lot done before the shit hit the fan. But, I'm trying to put all that stuff behind me now and just focus on the present. It could be worse, after all. At least I have a second chance at Dalton, and I get to spend my senior year with Blaine. I haven't transitioned in over a month now, and I've even been able to taper down to a super low dosage of my medication. Things are really coming together.

"Did I mention Blaine yet? I can't believe he's stuck with me through everything, but I guess I shouldn't really be surprised. He is my knight in shining armor, after all. We aren't rooming together this year. My dad said no way, but it worked out fine. I'm rooming with my good friend and fellow Warbler Nick this year. His family situation is, tense, to say the least, and his parents refused to allow him to room with his boyfriend Jeff this year. So we worked out the perfect plan-Jeff is rooming with Blaine and I'm with Nick, so on weekends we'll just, you know, switch."

Kurt paused, smirking slightly before turning his head toward the dorm room door.

"Anyway, I think I hear Nick coming back from the bathroom, so I'll change the subject. I've really been looking forward to today. It's been over a year since I've been in a classroom and to be honest, I've really missed it. I never thought I'd say that, but...I don't know, I just felt so isolated and cooped up last year, I'm ready for a change. I'm ready to get back out into the world and experience some excitement, maybe have an adventure or two. A non-DID related adventure that is, of course."

"Kurt! We have to go or we're going to be late for homeroom."

"Be right there!" Kurt called out to Nick, who'd made his way into the hallway, waiting for his roommate. He swiveled his chair back around to face the computer again. "Well, I guess that's it for now. I'll keep you updated!"

Kurt clicked the end record button and happily clicked his laptop screen closed. Gathering up his satchel that he'd had the presence of mind to pack the night before, he took one last look in the mirror on his closet and straightened his navy and red striped tie before eagerly trotting to the door to join Nick. It was going to be a good year, Kurt was certain of it.

* * *

The first night it happened, when he heard that soft, urgent knock on his door, Sebastian had been completely disoriented. It was rare that he was in bed before midnight, but it was the second week of school and a combination of homework, senior project research and Warbler practice (which, he was eternally grateful to be allowed to join back with the group, by unanimous vote of the council), he found himself crawling into bed at the early hour of eleven. He had a single room, courtesy of his ridiculously wealthy father, and for the most part he was grateful for it. Ever since the unfortunate incidents the year before, Sebastian found that he did better if he kept to himself as much as possible. He was slowly reforming friendships with his classmates, especially the Warblers, but he could tell they were still reluctant to fully trust him. Sebastian couldn't really blame them for feeling that way.

He almost hadn't heard the noise. In fact, the person at his door may have had to knock several times before Sebastian finally stirred. He sat straight up, startled by the interruption. Squinting at his bedside alarm clock, his brain barely registered that it was almost two in the morning. As he sat rubbing his eyes, the knocking started up again.

"Just a minute!" he called out grumpily, voice grainy and muffled with sleep. He was irritated at the very least. Whoever it was better have a good reason for waking him out of his much-coveted slumber. He stumbled out of bed on shaky legs and made his way slowly to the door. Turning the lock and then the handle, he pulled the door open just enough to see who was on the other side. He wasn't sure who he was expecting, but it definitely wasn't the person standing in front of him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, lifting an arm up to scratch the back of his head.

"Can I come in?" the boy asked in a strangely unfamiliar voice. Sebastian didn't hesitate to open the door wide enough for him to squeeze in, despite the bizarre nature of their exchange so far. The boy nodded a thanks and slinked into the room. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his flannel pajama bottoms and even in his sleep-deprived state, Sebastian couldn't help but admire the way his charcoal gray tee shirt clung to his slender form.

Sebastian had barely opened his mouth to question him again why he had come to his dorm room at such a late hour when the boy turned around and put a strong hand on Sebastian's waist. He was a few inches shorter than Sebastian, but the air around the boy asserted his dominance in the situation. Sebastian's mouth hung open slightly with the unasked question quickly fading from his mind. The boy's hand moved slowly over to Sebastian's stomach, his thumb hitching under the elastic of Sebastian's briefs and Sebastian drew in a quick breath as the boy's nail raked across his naked skin. Sebastian could feel the hair on his neck stand up at the sensation.

"What are you—"

Sebastian was again silenced, this time by the boy's mouth eagerly covering his own. His next word was transformed into a low moan as the boy's hand moved further south and his tongue demanded entrance passed Sebastian's lips. It had been a very long time since Sebastian had felt anything even close to what he was feeling in that moment, and perhaps it was more intense than he'd ever felt before. It was as if he was discovering these sensations for the very first time in the arms of someone much more experienced than he.

It didn't make sense, not with as much experience in the bedroom as Sebastian had, but he didn't have the wherewithal to analyze it. His body was responding rapidly to the boy's touch and before he knew what was happening, both were fully undressed and the mysterious boy was pushing Sebastian slowly back onto his unmade bed.

It wasn't until several minutes later, after the boy had guided himself into Sebastian's hastily-prepared entrance and set into a slow, steady rock that Sebastian finally had the presence of mind to ask the only question that seemed appropriate at the time.

"What's your name?" he panted, staring up at the boy above him. As a rule, Sebastian didn't bottom for anyone. Well, not any more. Several years ago, while living in Europe, he was a child among men, the acts of which were surely considered illegal by American standards. He'd been with much older men, much more experienced men, and even some boys just a few years older than him. But when he came back home, he knew his experiences set him way ahead of any Midwestern boy whose bed he may stumble upon. He used his history to his advantage and always found that he had the upper hand. But with this one, he didn't even begin to question who was in charge.

"Daniel," the boy grunted in-between thrusts. _Daniel_, Sebastian toyed with the name in his head. It fit him, now that Sebastian finally knew. He would think about it more later, but in the moment, he allowed his head to fall back, his eyes to close, and his mind to focus on how fucking good he felt in that moment. The time would come, later, when he could analyze everything, perhaps allow the surely pending guilt of his actions to sink in. But not yet.

* * *

_"Mikey Rawlings was last seen approximately seventy-two hours ago, playing outside his grandmother's house in the Oak Grove subdivision of the North Westerville Community. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is urged to call the specially designated tip line at…"_

"Nick, shut that thing off!" Kurt groaned as he dragged his pillow out from underneath his heavy head and cocooned it over his ears. Nick's radio alarm clock was blaring loudly, the deejay's harsh, morning-person chipper voice ringing in his ears. It was a quarter past seven and Kurt's head was already starting to pound. The first few weeks of school had not been kind to him. It was harder getting back into the routine of school than Kurt had anticipated and each day he felt he was slipping farther and farther behind. It wasn't a good sign considering they were just a week and a half into September.

"Got it," Nick announced as his hand slammed down on the snooze. Sitting up straight, Nick quickly reset the alarm, preparing it for the next morning. Kurt was amazed at how quickly Nick seemed to wake up in the mornings. Of course, his roommate was usually passed out by ten thirty, but Kurt was glad to have someone like him around. At least he never had to worry about being late for class.

"Lights!" Nick said cheerfully, giving Kurt a warning that he was about to flip the light switch. Kurt groaned again and pulled the pillow tighter around his head.

"Dude," Nick addressed him again when Kurt showed no signs of moving. "What time did you go to bed last night?"

Kurt finally peeped out from his fortress of darkness. "I don't know, around midnight? I still have so much to do."

Nick gave him a sympathetic shake of his head before making his way over to Kurt's closet and grabbing his shower caddy.

"Here," Nick offered, placing the caddy on Kurt's bed near where his head lay. "This will help wake you up."

Kurt couldn't help but smile. Nick was just one of those people who was always thinking about those around him. Casting his pillow to the side, he finally swung his legs over the side of his bed and sat up. "Thanks, Nick."

Nick returned the smile and turned back to his own closet, pulling out his uniform for the day. Kurt shoved his feet into his shower shoes, grabbed a clean towel and left the room, trudging slowly down the hallway toward the communal bathroom. He was grateful for the silence that indicated that so far, no one else was occupying the bathroom. There were four shower stalls, but Kurt preferred the privacy of being completely alone.

Stepping into the steamy shower, Kurt allowed his mind to wander. First to where he'd left off on his homework pile the night before, then to his weekend plans, which included a date night with Blaine on Friday and a trip home for Saturday and Sunday, and then finally his mind settled on the nagging issue that had been in his head the last few days.

Mikey Rawlings. He'd first heard about the little boy who was thought to be abducted two mornings ago as he glanced over the copy of the Westerville Herald that someone, probably a faculty member, had left in the dining room. He was three years old, just started preschool, and seemed to have vanished into thin air. One minute he was playing in the cul-de-sac outside of his grandmother's home and the next minute he was gone. Just like that.

"What's wrong?" Blaine had asked, seeing Kurt's face scrunched up in concern as he read.

"This little boy," Kurt answered as he continued to read. "He's missing."

At the time, Mikey Rawlings had been gone only over night, but an Amber Alert had been issued, and search parties were forming across the tri-county area. Kurt wondered angrily why a little child had been allowed to play outside in the street all by himself, but mostly he just hoped that he was alright, that he'd be found. Shaken up, maybe banged up a bit, but all in one piece, alive and largely unharmed.

Now, as Kurt prepared to step out of the warm shower and into the cool air of the bathroom, he felt his heart drop as he realized that the news report he'd been woken up by indicated that Mikey was still missing, and the search was still active.

Shaking his head, Kurt tried his best to clear his mind of the little boy, as guilty as he felt doing so. There was nothing he could do from the safe, ivory towers of Dalton. He had himself to focus on, his studies, his social life and everything in-between. He just had to trust that Mikey would be found sooner rather than later. With a sigh and a final glance at his toweled form in the bathroom mirror, Kurt gathered his caddy and made his way back to his room to get ready for the day.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Incredible response so far, guys! Thank you so much, it's so encouraging :) No special warnings for this chapter, but I'm really interested to hear what you think.

Also, a HUGE thanks goes out to **paperstylehearts** for creating the cover art for this story. You are too kind to me, PSH. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara**

* * *

Chapter 2

To say that Sebastian couldn't stop thinking about Daniel was an understatement. Obsessing may have been closer to the truth. He found himself in the Great Room at Jarvis Hall, where the Warbler's met every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon for practice. He was alone, arriving before everyone else due to the fact that he skipped seventh period Organic Chemistry. He was too preoccupied for it today.

Daniel had arrived at his door the night before, the third time in less than a week. Ever since the first time he'd come, just six days earlier, Sebastian waited up, feeling like a fool and hoping he'd come again. Before he'd come that second night, Sebastian was almost to the point of allowing himself to believe that the whole thing had been a really vivid, messy dream. Of course, deep down, he knew it had happened, but a combination of guilt and the strangeness of it all made it more comfortable to believe that he'd made the whole thing up in his sleep.

But by the third visit, Sebastian knew it was real, and it was getting increasingly difficult for him to sort out how he felt about it. Even though it was Daniel pursuing _him_, Sebastian couldn't help feeling like he was taking advantage of the other boy and betraying the very fragile friendships he'd finally been able to form at Dalton.

_What's wrong with me?_ Sebastian thought. This time last year, he would have gloated about what was going on with Daniel, to anyone who would listen. But a lot can change in a year, and almost killing someone, even if it was an accident, was one of those turning moments in life.

Sebastian was suddenly startled when he glanced up to see a figure standing over him. For a split second, he thought it was Daniel, but he quickly realized who it actually was.

"Hello? Earth to Sebastian! I've been trying to get your attention for the past thirty seconds."

It was Kurt Hummel standing above him, hands on his hips, trying to look annoyed, but his face revealed a look of concern directed at Sebastian.

"Oh, sorry," Sebastian apologized lamely. "I was just thinking."

Kurt moved to sit beside him. They were still the only two Warblers in the room.

"You weren't in O Chem today," Kurt said. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sebastian answered a bit too quickly. He felt an uncharacteristic blush color his cheeks. "I've just got a lot on my mind these days."

"Tell me about it," Kurt huffed, flopping back on the couch. "I'm up to my ears in homework and I wake up every morning feeling like I've been hit by a truck."

Sebastian remained silent.

"Anyway," Kurt continued. "I guess that's what senior year is all about, right?"

"Right," Sebastian agreed, although he hardly knew what he was agreeing to. His mind had already begun to wander again. The two sat in silence as more Warblers filtered into the hall, the noise of their conversations gradually increasing until the Council, consisting of Blaine, Nick and Jeff, called the meeting to order. Kurt remained beside Sebastian throughout the meeting.

_Just get through this meeting, _Sebastian told himself. _Then you're done for the day and you can go back to your room and sort this whole mess out._ He was determined to find a solution to the Daniel situation, and he was really hoping he could do it without hurting anyone.

* * *

Blaine peered across the library table at Kurt. At first glance, he appeared to be concentrating deeply, hunched over his literature textbook. But on closer inspection, Blaine could see that Kurt's eyes were closed, and his shoulders heaved gently and evenly every few seconds.

"Kurt," Blaine said softly, trying to both wake him and keep from drawing attention from the students at surrounding tables. Kurt didn't even flinch. Blaine bit his bottom lip and reached over, shaking Kurt's shoulder lightly.

"Huh? What?" Kurt awoke with a start, oblivious to his surroundings.

"Shh!" Blaine hushed him. He could see some other students craning their necks toward them. "You fell asleep again."

"Oh," Kurt answered sheepishly in a whisper this time. "Sorry, I don't know what my problem is."

Blaine paused, contemplating whether or not he should bring up what had been on his mind the last few days.

"I said I was sorry," Kurt repeated defensively. He mistook Blaine's concern for exasperation or judgment and Blaine decided to go ahead and bite the bullet and have the conversation now. It was as good a time as any.

"No, it's not that," Blaine started, noticing that Kurt stayed in his somewhat defensive stance. It was something that Blaine had become used to over his time with Kurt. It was like a protective shield that Kurt wore when he was tired, or scared, or—

"Do you think you may be transitioning again?" Blaine asked, his voice a little shaky and the words tumbling out too quickly. "I mean, do you think that might explain why you're so tired all the time even though you go to bed at a reasonable hour and you take naps throughout the day."

"No," Kurt answered immediately, feeling the anger rise inside of him. The truth was, it made sense. But Kurt felt stupid that he hadn't thought of it first and he was deathly afraid that Blaine was right.

"So there's no way that you're transitioning again and just haven't discovered it yet?" Blaine tried again, knowing how thin the ice was that he was treading on.

"What, you think I'm trying to hide something from you?" Kurt asked, his voice rising. If people weren't staring before, they definitely were now.

"Kurt, please, can we go somewhere and talk about this?" Blaine pleaded, casting furtive glances around him.

"No," Kurt answered, standing up from the table and slinging his books into his satchel. "I think I'll go study by myself."

Blaine watched Kurt as he spun away from the table and marched out of the library. He thought about chasing after him, but decided against it. He'd learned that when Kurt was like this, it was best to let him calm down on his own before approaching him again. He'd seen the combination of anger, hurt, fear and embarrassment on Kurt's face and he sighed sadly when he thought about how long it had been since the last time he'd had to witness it.

It had been when Kurt was at his lowest, pushing everyone away because he was so scared of what was happening to him. Blaine could only hope and pray that they weren't headed down the same road.

* * *

_Two days earlier_

"Hey Blaine, can I talk to you about something?"

Blaine couldn't help feeling a bit apprehensive at hearing Jeff's question, only because it sounded so formal compared to how the roommates usually interacted. It was the second week of school and despite the fact that Blaine really wanted to room with Kurt and Jeff would definitely have preferred Nick, they were getting along great. They knew they would, they'd been friends ever since Blaine arrived at Dalton midway through his freshman year. But questions like this from Jeff never seemed to end well.

"Um, yeah, sure," Blaine answered. "What's up?"

Jeff came and sat across from Blaine. They were each on their beds, Blaine getting ready to head to the bathroom for his morning shower and Jeff having just come back himself.

"Is everything okay with Kurt?"

Well, that was a loaded question. Blaine could see how stressed out Kurt was since school started two weeks earlier.

"Yeah, I guess," Blaine answered, measuring his words. When someone asked a question like this, there's always more behind it that isn't being spoken. "I think he's a bit overwhelmed trying to get back into the swing of things with classes, but other than that….why do you ask?"

Blaine could see the hesitation in Jeff's features. Blaine's stomach began to clench slightly.

"It's just that…last night, I got up to use the bathroom and when I passed by the window in the hall, I saw him walking across the court yard to Dupree. It was three o'clock in the morning"

Blaine felt his heart drop. Dupree was the dormitory across from their own.

"Are you sure it was Kurt?" Blaine asked, feeling stupid. He already knew the answer to that. Jeff was a smart, considerate person who didn't like drama. There's no way he would have said anything to Blaine if he wasn't positive that it was Kurt he'd seen.

"I'm sure, man," Jeff confirmed. "But, look, it's probably nothing. Maybe he just needed some fresh air. I just thought you should know."

Blaine nodded and looked down at his hands in his lap. What could Kurt possibly be doing in the middle of the night? And why would he conceal it from Blaine? Feeling troubled, he gathered his towel and shower items and made his way out of the room.

It took him until second period to realize that Kurt might not be hiding anything from him intentionally. It had been so long since they'd had to deal with Kurt's DID that Blaine hadn't even stopped to think that maybe Kurt was backsliding. It was the only thing that made sense, aside from thinking that Kurt may be flat-out lying to him about going to bed early and sleeping through the night.

In a way, the revelation made him feel a bit better, but it also made him feel worse. Why would Kurt be transitioning again? Had something happened to trigger it? Which alter was taking over and where were they going so late at night?

Blaine decided he had to confront his boyfriend about it. The sooner the better. Little did he know that it would take a few days for him to build his courage and when he finally had the opportunity to confront Kurt about it, it didn't exactly go smoothly.

* * *

Now, later in the evening after their confrontation, Blaine found himself camped out in the hallway outside of Kurt's dorm room. The room he shared with Nick was on the floor below Blaine's room, and Blaine had tucked himself away as inconspicuously as possible a few yards away. He had no idea if his plan would work, or really what his plan even was. He was just waiting to see if Kurt would leave again tonight.

As far as Blaine knew, Kurt had only left once during the night, but the way he was exhausted day after day led Blaine to believe that this may have been a semi-routine experience. Blaine checked his watch; it was almost two in the morning. Letting out a yawn, he tried to concentrate on the science fiction paperback he'd brought along to keep him awake. It was a guilty pleasure of his, escaping into the high-tech fantasy world every now and then. But now, he could hardly concentrate from sentence-to sentence.

It didn't matter though. Before too long, Blaine heard the door to Kurt's room click open and he watched as Kurt stepped out into the hall in his pajamas. He didn't look tired at all. In fact, he didn't really look like Kurt. He turned left out of the room, walking down the hall in the opposite direction of Blaine.

Blaine quietly shoved his book in the pouch of his hoodie and stood up, following Kurt from a distance down the hall. He slid in the stairwell after Kurt, landing each foot on his toes to walk as noiselessly as possible. He wanted to see where Kurt was headed before he stopped him.

Sure enough, when he got out to the courtyard, Kurt began walking in the direction of Dupree. About halfway across the yard, Blaine decided to make his move. Jogging a bit to catch up, he reached his hand out to grab Kurt's shoulder.

"Kurt," he began speaking, but the minute his hand landed on his boyfriend's shoulder, the other boy whipped around, knocking it off. The look on his face was unlike any he'd ever seen on Kurt before.

"Conrad?" Blaine tried again when the boy didn't speak. Whoever it was, Blaine was positive it wasn't Kurt.

"The name is Daniel," the boy growled. "And who the hell are you?"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** No special warnings for this chapter. Thanks for reading!

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara**

* * *

"The name is Daniel," the boy growled. "And who the hell are you?"

Blaine was shocked by the aggressiveness behind the boy's words. It wasn't like Kurt. It wasn't even like Conrad at his worst.

"Blaine," he answered quietly, mostly out of shock.

"Well if you'll excuse me, _Blaine_, I have somewhere I need to be."

Blaine opened his mouth to respond, but before he could figure out what to say, Daniel was already walking away toward Dupree again. Blaine felt like his feet were frozen to the ground, but once Daniel was a few yards away, Blaine began following him again. He moved quietly, but it didn't seem to matter, Daniel was on a mission and he didn't bother turning around to see what might have happened to the boy who stopped him in the courtyard.

Blaine caught the entrance door that Daniel had flung open before it could slam shut, causing a racket. He followed Daniel down the hallway lined with dorm rooms, through the commons area, and up through the back hall, which contained a handful of single rooms. Blaine could feel his heart sink lower and lower with each step he took. He only knew one person who lived on this wing on the first floor of Dupree. Blaine stopped short of entering the hall, opting to watch from the commons room instead.

Sure enough, Daniel stopped in front of room 108 and knocked softly. Within a matter of seconds, the door was open and Blaine watched as Daniel, in Kurt's body, sauntered into the bedroom of Sebastian Smythe.

Blaine felt like he was going to throw up, or possibly pass out. _It's not Kurt_, he told himself over and over. _He doesn't know this is even happening. _It was only barely comforting. But the next thought that went through his mind sent ice coursing through his veins. Kurt may not know what was going on, but Sebastian sure as hell did. Blaine couldn't understand how Sebastian could betray them like that. Blaine knew within seconds that it wasn't Kurt who was coming over for these late night meetings, surely Sebastian knew it as well. Surely Sebastian knew that while Kurt was happy to try to be Sebastian's friend, even after everything, he didn't want anything to do with him romantically.

Finally finding the ability to move again, Blaine crept quietly until he was standing just outside of Sebastian's room. He leaned carefully against the door, pressing his ear to it and praying that anything he heard would be innocent. The noises he was met with were anything but innocent and Blaine could feel his face grow red with anger. Using every ounce of energy in his body, he softly pushed back from the door and began the slow walk back to his room.

As much as Blaine wanted to barge into the room and destroy Sebastian, he had no idea what Daniel was capable of. If he was anything like Conrad, he could kill Blaine before he could even begin to defend himself, and from his brief interaction with him in the courtyard, Blaine feared that Daniel was more dangerous than Conrad could even dream about being. There was an emptiness in Daniel's eyes that frightened Blaine. It was so unlike anything he'd ever seen in Kurt's face.

Climbing up to the third floor of his dorm room, Blaine could feel the tremor in his body from his toes to the top of his head. He wasn't even sure how he was able to get his hand around the doorknob to his bedroom as shaky as it was. He wasn't just angry now, he was ashamed of his feeling of helplessness and he was embarrassed on behalf of Kurt, who was going to have a hard time accepting the whole thing once he found out.

Jeff rolled over when he heard the door open. "Everything okay?" he mumbled sleepily.

Blaine didn't answer. With almost robotic movements, he sat down on his bed, kicked his shoes off and lay down, not bothering to pull back the covers.

"Blaine?" Jeff tried again, but his roommate remained silent. Jeff, having been fast asleep before Blaine walked in, wasn't alert enough to pursue it further and within a matter of seconds, Blaine could hear the soft, even snores coming from his bed.

Blaine didn't sleep that night. Even if he had wanted to, his mind wouldn't stop racing long enough to fall into a slumber. He tried to figure out how he was going to handle the situation in the morning, but he had no idea where to start. He needed to tell Kurt what was going on, but he was so defensive at the library earlier in the day that Blaine wasn't sure Kurt would believe him. Throughout everything, Blaine was never once angry with Kurt. He really wanted to be, but he knew it wouldn't have been fair. The only person Blaine could find accountable for any of this was Sebastian Smythe and before the sun set on the next day, Blaine was determined that Sebastian would know just how angry he was.

* * *

It was Tuesday afternoon and Kurt found himself sitting on the couch in the Warbler's practice room next to Sebastian. Kurt was starting to grow pretty concerned about his friend. The two boys had four classes together each day and Sebastian had barely been to any of them in the last week and a half. He was feeling some strange vibes from the other boy, but Kurt was determined to get to the bottom of it eventually.

Kurt was well aware of the history between Sebastian and himself, but it just wasn't in his nature to let someone fall when he knew he could help them. Going and speaking at the schools during the spring after his accident had been good for both boys and had allowed them to form a tentative friendly acquaintanceship that blossomed into what Kurt deemed an actual friendship over the summer. Kurt's father and Blaine had been highly suspicious at first, but Kurt was stubborn and insisted that Sebastian had changed. Eventually, they believed him and although Burt Hummel's limited interactions with Sebastian were tense, they weren't entirely unfriendly.

Now Kurt found himself craning his neck, waiting for Blaine to arrive. Just about everyone else had filed in and began noisily goofing off and waiting for the council to commence the meeting. Kurt turned his gaze to the council's table where Nick and Jeff sat on either side with Blaine's empty chair in the middle. He watched as Jeff checked his watch and then shrugged at Nick, as if to suggest that he didn't know what was causing Blaine to be late. It was odd, Blaine was very punctual, usually, but now that Kurt thought about it, he hadn't seen his boyfriend at all that day, not even at lunch. At the time, Kurt didn't think much about it, Blaine often skipped lunch to practice piano, trying to perfect his recital piece before the homecoming concert next month. He was applying to Juilliard for the fall and was practicing at every available moment.

Just as Kurt begin to let the worry sink into his pores, he sighed with relief when he saw Blaine walking through the open doorway. But his relief was short-lived. There was something not quite right about Blaine's expression. He didn't have time to analyze it though, just like he didn't have time to process the way Blaine threw his satchel to the ground and push up his sleeves, because within a few seconds of entering the room, Blaine was on top of Sebastian, landing punch after punch against the startled boy's jaw.

"Oh my God, Blaine! Stop!" Kurt begged in shock. "What are you doing? Stop!"

Sebastian remained eerily silent, except for the grunts of pain and exertion as he tried to push the smaller boy off of him. After a few punches, some of the other Warblers finally jumped into action, pulling Blaine off of Sebastian, who's lip was busted and already beginning to swell.

"Blaine!" Jeff yelled, having to physically straddle his friend's legs on the ground to keep him from attacking Sebastian again. "What the hell is going on with you?"

"You stay away from him!" Blaine yelled, looking straight at Sebastian. Kurt, confused as ever, looked from Blaine to Sebastian. Sebastian's eyes were downcast, refusing to make eye contact with Blaine.

"Blaine, what-Sebastian, who, who is he talking about?" Kurt sputtered helplessly. He had no idea what was going on or where to even start.

"I don't know," Sebastian answered quietly, feeling more like a coward than he ever had in his entire life.

"You know! You know who I'm talking about!" Blaine growled. "If you ever come near him again I will kill you. I mean it!"

Blaine shoved himself free of the Warblers pinning him down. Sensing that he was done throwing punches, at least for the time being, they didn't resist. Blaine stood up and stalked out of the room, not bothering to pick up his satchel on the way out. Kurt wanted to follow him, but first, he turned to Sebastian.

"A-are you okay?" he asked shakily. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's gotten into him, I-"

Kurt cut off abruptly when Sebastian raised his hand to Kurt. His eyes were still on the ground in front of him, but he clearly indicated that he didn't want Kurt to talk to him. Kurt looked to Jeff, then Nick and then the other Warblers crowded around. He could feel his cheeks become splotchy with embarrassment.

"Excuse me," he whispered quietly before gathering his bag and Blaine's and hurrying out the door. He desperately wanted to catch up with Blaine and figure out what the hell was going on. By the time he finally caught up with him, Blaine was almost to their dormitory.

"Hey!" he yelled at Blaine's back, feeling slightly out of breath. Blaine stopped but didn't turn around. "Do you mind telling me what the hell that was all about?"

Finally, with his hands on his hips, Blaine turned around. Kurt could see that he'd been crying between the time he left the practice room and now.

"What's going on?" Kurt pressed again, this time a little softer, even though his fear and anger still edged his words. "Who is Sebastian supposed to stay away from?"

"You," Blaine answered quietly.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked. "There's nothing going on between Sebastian and me."

Kurt's confusion was obvious on his face, and Blaine shook his head. This wasn't at all how he wanted this to happen. He'd started the day with good intentions, but the minute he saw Sebastian sitting there next to Kurt in practice, much like he had at every practice since the semester started, Blaine was incapable of controlling his rage.

"Don't you believe me?" Kurt asked meekly when Blaine didn't respond. His confusion had morphed into hurt and Blaine decided the time had come.

"Kurt, we need to talk."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** There's sex in this chapter, just a warning. If you want to skip it for some strange reason, skip the section after the first break :). Thanks for reading!

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara**

* * *

Chapter 4

"I don't…I don't believe you."

"Kurt," Blaine responded with a heavy, worn-out sigh. Their conversation hadn't gone well, and this was the third time Kurt had circled back from anger, guilt and frustration back to disbelief. It was just easier that way, and Blaine understood with as much patience as anyone in his situation could muster. But it was time that Kurt faced the fact that Daniel not only existed, but had made a mess between Blaine, Sebastian and himself.

"I know you don't want to hear it," Blaine started again. "But it's true. I followed you—him, I followed him outside last night. We talked, he told me his name and then…and then he went to Sebas—"

"Stop," Kurt interrupted. "I don't need to hear it again."

Blaine threw his hands up slightly, but remained silent. It was taking every bit of self-control he had not to grab Kurt around the shoulders and shake him. Yes, it was hard for Kurt to hear, but didn't he understand how hard it was for Blaine too? Not to mention the fact that at any moment, Blaine was expecting Dean Parker to come knocking at his bedroom door to serve a suspension for fighting Sebastian.

"I'm sorry," Kurt muttered, noticing the look on his boyfriend's face. He wanted to apologize for the things that Daniel had done with Sebastian, but he couldn't quite wrap his mind around the fact that not only was he transitioning again, he had a new alter and that alter was apparently sleeping with the enemy.

"It's fine," Blaine answered wearily, despite the fact that it was so clearly not fine. "Just...let's just try to figure out why this is happening and then…then we'll go from there."

Kurt studied the boy in front of him. He looked even more worn out than Kurt felt over the last few weeks. He felt so bad for Blaine. Even though Kurt was blameless in his boyfriend's eyes, Kurt wasn't so easy on himself. Blaine deserved so much better.

With a small nod of agreement, Kurt cast his eyes downward, trying to figure out exactly where to go from there.

* * *

_The night before_

Sebastian hadn't bothered with the pretense of getting ready for bed. Daniel had come by almost every night that week, and he would've been shocked if the pattern didn't continue that night, if only because he'd grown so accustomed, maybe even addicted, to the visits in such a short period of time.

Sure enough, within a few minutes of the usual time, he heard the soft knock at the door. A sly grin spread across his face as he hopped off his bed and opened his door. Daniel slid in and Sebastian closed the door behind him.

"You're late," he said playfully as Daniel brushed passed him on his way to the bed.

"I got held up," Daniel answered simply, wasting no time undressing. The magnetic pull of Sebastian's body toward Daniel's was intensifying with each article of clothing that hit the floor. Sebastian quickly followed suit.

"Everything alright?" Sebastian asked with just a hint of trepidation. As much as he was enjoying this whole, strange experience, he found himself growing increasingly jumpy and slightly paranoid. At some point, this whole precarious charade was going to topple down on him like a poorly constructed house of cards. Kurt was already starting to notice something during Warbler practices and it wouldn't be long until someone figured out what was going on with him. Sebastian only hoped that by the time that happened, he'd have built up the nerve to break the whole thing off with Daniel.

"Fine," Daniel murmured, rubbing his hands over Sebastian's bare chest. Sebastian's eyelids fluttered closed at the touch. He grabbed Daniel's hips and pulled him closer, leaning in for a deep kiss.

Sebastian worshipped the moan he elicited from Daniel in that moment, a combination of his tongue exploring the inside of Daniel's mouth and his hand gently cupping his balls. Every other interaction they'd had until this point had been initiated by Daniel, which Sebastian enjoyed more than he ever thought he would. But Sebastian had decided earlier that day that if Daniel showed up at his door again, he was going to take a strong lead. So far, it was working out.

"Mmmm, lay down," Daniel ordered gently after coming up for air from Sebastian's eager mouth.

"No," Sebastian responded breathlessly, capturing Daniel's mouth again before he had the chance to respond. Instead, Sebastian guided him down to the bed and pinned Daniel's hands above his head with one of his own. His other hand continued exploring Daniel's body.

"What's this?" Daniel asked with a smile. Sebastian returned it with a mischievous look on his face. He answered by way of kissing Daniel down the length of his chest. Daniel bucked slightly as Sebastian moved lower.

"Nuh-uh," Sebastian scolded playfully. "Stay still or I stop."

Daniel whimpered softly, but Sebastian knew he was game to play along. He waited a few moments to show he was serious before continuing to kiss and suck his way along Daniel's left hip bone.

"Oh my God, Sebastian," he groaned loudly, trying hard not to move. Sebastian rewarded him by moving farther south. "Please."

Sebastian knew what Daniel was asking and he happily obliged. He opened his mouth slightly and allowed his hot breath to ghost over Daniel's cock, earning a shudder from the boy. He reached out and circled his tongue around the head before diving deeper, taking Daniel by surprise. Sebastian had been moving so painstakingly slow up until this point that Daniel almost came just from the shock of sudden intensity.

Sebastian moaned obscenely as he bobbed up and down, knowing the vibrations would be heavenly. With one hand still pinning down both of Daniel's, he took a short break to suck on his own finger before returning his mouth to Daniel's cock. He began circling his finger around Daniel's hole.

"Fuck yes," Daniel hissed as Sebastian slid the wet finger inside of him. Daniel tried to grind down on it, but quickly stopped when Sebastian gave him a warning look. Sebastian continued working, moving quickly from one finger to two, and then three.

Daniel was in so deep that when Sebastian's hand and mouth left him at the same time, it felt like a bolt of electricity had travelled through his body. He opened his eyes to find Sebastian gathering the lube and condoms that he kept in his nightstand.

"You can trust me," he panted. "I won't move."

Sebastian smiled and removed his hand from Daniel's. With both hands available, he made quick work of preparing himself for the job. True to his word, Daniel stayed still, his body pulsating with anticipation.

Finally, Sebastian was lining himself up with Daniel's opening and slowly pushing in. Stars exploded in Sebastian's vision and if the look on Daniel's face was any indication, he was experiencing the sensation just as sharply.

"You're so fucking tight," Sebastian whispered, slowly picking up speed. He'd never felt anything quite as good and God knew he had plenty of experience.

"Fuck me harder," Daniel grunted and Sebastian immediately obliged. Reaching down, Sebastian grasped Daniel's cock and began stroking it in rhythm with the movement of his own hips, earning even more delicious noises from the boy. They moved together with increasing intensity for several minutes before Daniel began pulsating around Sebastian.

"Sebastian, I'm gonna—unnngg!" Daniel grunted with each shot of come that spurted out onto his chest. Sebastian increased his thrusting and within a few seconds, he was losing himself inside of Daniel. Daniel clenched around him, relishing the whimper the action squeezed out of Sebastian.

Exhausted, Sebastian collapsed on the bed next to Daniel, panting happily.

"That was really good," Daniel said after regaining his ability to speak.

"Yeah," Sebastian agreed. He was about to excuse himself to clean up when Daniel said something that made his heart drop.

"I hope that Blaine guy is gone by the time I leave. The kid fucking followed me over here."

* * *

Sebastian knew he deserved what happened at Warbler practice the next day. He could see the second that Blaine entered the room that he knew, and that he wasn't open to having a civilized conversation about it.

Sebastian was almost glad that Blaine beat the shit out of his face. It made him feel a little better. That is, it made him feel a little better until he thought about the fact that soon Kurt would know what happened and more than anything, Sebastian wished he could take everything back in exchange for not betraying Kurt the way he had. Kurt, who'd been downright saintly in his forgiveness and acceptance of Sebastian after everything that had happened and now…Sebastian wanted nothing more than to drive away from Dalton and never look back.

"You're not going anywhere," his dad had told him over the phone, his idea to head back to Europe with his mother immediately shot down by the elder Smythe. There was no point in arguing. Once his father had his mind made up, there was no changing it. Sebastian hung up and flopped back on his bed, trying hard not to notice the way Daniel's scent lingered in his sheets.

"This is so fucked up," he groaned into his hands. He needed something to distract him. Homework wouldn't do the trick. He didn't want to get online and see all the awful things his classmates were probably saying about him, now that they all either knew or guessed at the truth. In their eyes, Blaine wouldn't have attacked him without a good reason, and with his tenuous relationship with the rest of the Warblers, he knew he was on the losing end of that guessing game.

Sebastian settled for turning on the television. Not caring what was on, he turned up the volume and laid back down on the bed, shielding his eyes from the overhead light.

_It's been three weeks since the sudden disappearance of Mikey Rawlings and police still have no leads as to who may have abducted the five year old. Anyone with information is urged to…_

Sebastian zoned out as the sound of the evening news blared in his ears. Before too long, the words muddled and he was thrown into a fitful sleep, his brain still trying to figure out a way to turn back time, disappear or both.

* * *

Kurt found himself slumped down in the uncomfortable bank of plastic chairs that lined the interior of the waiting room at Dr. Simmons' office. He couldn't believe he was back in this place after so many successful months. Blaine had offered to come with him, but Kurt had gently declined his offer. He wasn't quite ready to face Blaine's inexplicable forgiveness and understanding. Kurt wasn't even ready to forgive himself for whatever launched him back into this situation.

Kurt flipped through the newspaper that had been abandoned there by the last client who'd been waiting before Kurt. He scanned over the front page before opening the paper to find a two page spread on the disappearance of the little boy from North Westerville. Kurt had found himself strangely drawn to the story ever since it broke a few weeks ago. He was worried about the little boy, but he couldn't quite figure out why. Of course he wanted the boy to be found safe, but he'd read about other children before without having the emotional attachment he seemed to be experiencing.

As Kurt neared the end of the article, he felt a strange, yet somewhat familiar chill shoot through his body_. No, _he thought_. Not now._

But it was too late.

"Mr. Hummel?" the receptionist asked, noticing Dr. Simmons next appointment slumping down in his chair. "Are you alright sir?"

She was about to get up and check on him when he suddenly stood up straighter and scanned the room with a frightened look.

"Mr. Hummel?" the receptionist tried again. He looked over at her and stood up when he heard her voice, walking slowly over to her. "Mr. Hummel, are you okay?"

"M-my name's Jamie," he answered softly. "Have you seen my Teddy?"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Thank you guys so much for all the wonderful feedback! It's so encouraging :)

There is a song in this chapter, which I don't do very often, but I felt like it fit well for this part of the story. It's called Mercury by Counting Crows (I know...) and it's in italics in the second section. All credit goes to them for the wonderful song.

**I don't own Glee, United States of Tara or Mercury by Counting Crows.**

* * *

For what felt like the hundredth time in his life, Burt Hummel had absolutely no idea what to do about his son. After receiving a phone call from Doctor Simmons' receptionist in the middle of the work day, Burt found himself driving his eighteen year old son home instead of back to Dalton. Kurt was fast asleep in the passenger seat, thumb hanging loosely from his mouth and clutching his Teddy which had been meticulously sewn back together by Carole, just in case Jamie ever came back. Burt had to remember to thank his wife when she got home from work that evening for having that forethought.

Jamie had been on the verge of hyperventilating by the time Burt made it to Doctor Simmons' office. The staff there had done what they could to keep him calm, but when they couldn't magically produce his coveted stuffed bear, he went into a tantrum in the middle of the waiting room. When Burt came through the glass doors, he found Dr. Simmons kneeling on the ground beside Jamie as he cried. She looked inexperienced and completely helpless and it wasn't the first time Burt thought it might be time to search for a new doctor.

Now, as they were pulling into the driveway, Burt knew he had to wake Jamie up to get him inside. With Finn away at school and Carole at work, there was no way Burt would be able to carry his grown son in on his own.

"Jamie? Son, it's time to wake up," Burt shook his shoulder gently. The boy immediately sat up, pulling his thumb from his mouth with a string of spit along with it. He looked around, obviously disoriented.

"Jamie?" Burt tried again, but when his son made eye contact with him, he knew Kurt was back.

"Jamie," Kurt repeated, looking down at Teddy still clutched tightly to his side. "He's back."

"Looks like it," Burt agreed. "What happened, kiddo?"

"I don't know," Kurt explained. "I just went to Doctor Simmons for my biweekly appointment and I was sitting in the waiting room, and…that's all I remember."

"Kurt, your appointment isn't until next week," Burt said. "There's something you're not telling me."

Kurt swallowed hard. He really didn't want to explain the Daniel fiasco to his father, but he was foolish if he thought he'd be able to hide it from his father. Especially if Burt caught wind of what happened at Dalton between Sebastian and Blaine.

"Kurt," his father warned, and he knew that he'd stalled as long as possible.

"There's a new alter," Kurt explained with a sigh. "His name is Daniel and he's wreaking havoc on my social life. I think he surfaced about two weeks ago."

"And when were you planning on telling me about this?" Burt asked, trying not to get angry.

"I just found out about him myself yesterday," Kurt answered quickly. "I booked the first appointment I could with Doctor Simmons and then I swear I was going to call you tonight. I just…I just didn't want you to worry over nothing, Dad."

Burt took off his baseball cap and rubbed his head wearily. "It's my job to worry about you, Kurt. You should know better."

"I know," Kurt answered quietly feeling a surge of guilt. "I'm sorry."

Burt remained silent for a moment.

"We'll talk about it more later," he finally spoke. "It's Friday, you're spending the weekend here and I'll drive you back to school on Sunday evening. Call Blaine so he doesn't worry."

Kurt watched as his father opened the car door and walked silently to the house. Deep down he knew that it wasn't because he was angry. He was just worried. Kurt felt a second pang of guilt as he watched the front door open and close after Burt. Last year, it nearly killed Kurt watching what his father had to go through because of him. More than anything, he wanted to avoid another episode like that because of how it affected Burt. The man seemed to age five years in one last year.

Kurt drew in a shaky breath and pulled out his cell phone.

_To: Blaine_

_From: Kurt_

_Doctor's appointment didn't go well. At home with Dad now. I'll call you later tonight. Love you._

Kurt wanted to call Blaine, but at the same time, he couldn't bring himself to do it just yet. He had to focus on one thing at a time and, right now, the thing he needed to focus on was figuring out why he was transitioning again. Leaning his head back against the passenger seat's head rest, he took a moment to collect himself before following his father's path inside the house.

* * *

Jeff searched for his room keys as he walked down the hall toward the dorm room he shared with Blaine. He finally located them and was getting ready to unlock the door when he heard Blaine's muffled voice and guitar coming out from inside.

"_He is trapped inside a month of gray_

_It may take a little every day_

_He is a victim of his own responses_

_Shackled to a heart that wants to settle_

_And then runs away_

_It's a sin to be fading endlessly_

_Yeah, but he's alright with me_

_He is leaving on a walk away_

_He is leaving me in disarray_

_In the absence of a place to be_

_He stands there looking back at me_

_Hesitates, then turns away_

_He'll change so suddenly_

_He's just like mercury_

_Yeah, but he's alright with me"_

Jeff winced slightly as the strumming died down. Before he could try the door again, Blaine voice picked back up.

"_Keep some sorrow in your hearts and minds_

_For the things that die before their time_

_For the restlessly abandoned homes_

_The tired and weary rambler's bones _

_That stay beside where I lie_

_He's entwined in me_

_Crazy as can be_

_Yeah, but he's alright with me_

_Mmm, he's alright with me."_

Blaine looked up as he heard the bedroom door open slowly. Jeff gave him a tight smile before coming in and setting his stuff down.

"So," Jeff spoke after an awkward silence. "I'm not positive, but I think Kurt might object to being called crazy."

"It's just a song," Blaine muttered, embarrassed that Jeff had overheard him. "It's not about Kurt."

"Right," Jeff nodded slowly. "Which is why you changed all the pronouns from 'she' to 'he'? You might fool someone else, Anderson, but my older sister is obsessed with Counting Crows. I can sing their entire catalog to you."

Blaine could feel his face heat up.

"It's been two days," Blaine said to fill the silence. "He hasn't texted me since Friday."

"Well, maybe he's just resting," Jeff reasoned. "Trying to figure things out. It's kind of been a rough couple of days for him since…you know."

Blaine knew. Of course he knew. And now the whole school, or at least all of the Warblers knew. Kurt had cheated on Blaine with Sebastian. At least, that was the story that was floating around. Aside from Nick, Jeff, Sebastian and the administration, no one at Dalton knew about Kurt's DID. So Kurt opted to be painted as an unfaithful asshole and Blaine reluctantly went along with it. The only problem was, Kurt was avoiding him like the plague now, and he feared a repeat of last year. Blaine didn't know if he had the energy to try to convince Kurt not to break up with him again this time around.

"Look, I'm sure he'll be back tonight," Jeff reassured. "I told Nick to text me when he gets in, so maybe you two can talk then."

Blaine nodded and started to speak when his phone buzzed. He picked it up expectantly, but within a second of checking the screen, he let out a grunt of frustration and tossed it to the other side of his bed.

"Who is it?" Jeff asked as the phone continued to vibrate. If it had been Kurt, Blaine definitely would have answered.

"Sebastian," Blaine muttered. "He's been calling non-stop all weekend. And then when I don't answer, he sends me texts asking if we can talk."

"Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea—"

"I don't want to talk to him, Jeff!" Blaine shouted angrily. "All Sebastian Smythe has done since he walked into my life is try to destroy me. I don't want anything to do with him."

"I understand that you're pissed," Jeff answered quietly, trying to control his own temper. "But you're taking it out on the wrong guy."

"I'm sorry," Blaine offered after a few seconds. "I'm just…I have no idea what's going on or how to fix it. And honestly Jeff, I love Kurt more than anything, but…I'm just not sure I can do it anymore. I don't know if I can keep chasing him and trying to convince him he should be with me. It's exhausting and part of me wonders if this whole Daniel situation isn't just Kurt's subconscious trying to get rid of me."

"I—"

Jeff started to respond that he thought Blaine was wrong, that Kurt loved him more than anything and that none of this was related to how Kurt felt about their relationship. But what the hell did Jeff know? Maybe Blaine was right. Jeff had always admired Blaine for his relationship and dedication to Kurt. He wasn't so sure he could be as strong and understanding if he was in Blaine's shoes.

Jeff knew he needed to say something. Blaine was looking at him expectantly. Jeff could tell that Blaine wanted him to tell him he was wrong, that Kurt, nor his subconscious, would ever do such a thing. Jeff didn't know at this moment if being a friend meant lying or telling him the truth.

"Let's get out of here for a while. Lima Bean?"

* * *

Sebastian sat back at his corner table in the coffee shop, nursing the same Oolong tea for over an hour. It was Sunday evening and he knew that he'd have to show his face in class the next day. He'd have to see everyone and their disappointment and hatred for him.

His lip was still bruised and there were still some mottled marks around his left eye, but he wished the damage Blaine had down was worse. At least then, Blaine ignoring his calls wouldn't be as bad.

All he wanted to do was apologize. To try to explain why he did what he did. But really, what could he say? The fact that Blaine hadn't answered all weekend was almost a blessing, because Sebastian didn't even know where to start apologizing. He knew better than to try to contact Kurt and it didn't surprise him that no one, not even his own parents, had called to check up on him over the past few days. It didn't really surprise him that much.

After checking his phone once again, Sebastian happened to look up to see Jeff and Blaine walk through the entrance. His heart started pounding in his ears and he looked around momentarily for a place he might be able to hide.

_Wait a minute, Smythe, _he thought to himself._ This is what you've been waiting for. Now or never._

Taking a deep breath, he gathered his courage and walked swiftly to where the two boys were waiting in line. They obviously hadn't seen Sebastian on their way in.

"Blaine," Sebastian greeted as he approached. Blaine looked surprised at first before quickly rearranging his features into a look of anger and disgust. "Can I please talk to you for just a minute. Alone?"

Blaine looked Sebastian up and down slowly. "Yeah, fine. Okay."

Jeff gave Blaine a look that seemed to ask if he needed back-up.

"Will you get me a medium drip?" Blaine asked Jeff. "I'll pay you back."

"Of course," Jeff answered, keeping his eyes on Sebastian. "Just let me know if you need me."

Sebastian breathed a strangely mixed sigh of relief and anxiety as Blaine stepped out of line and followed him outside the coffee shop. It was pitch black now, and they stood under the streetlights so they could see one another.

"What do you want, Sebastian?" Blaine asked impatiently when it became obvious that Sebastian hadn't thought much past his campaign to get Blaine to talk to him in the first place.

"I, um, I wanted to apologize for what I did with Daniel—"

"Kurt," Blaine interjected angrily. "It's what you did _to Kurt_, not what you did with Daniel."

"You're right," Sebastian agreed quickly, putting his hands up. "I betrayed his trust, a-and yours, and you have no idea how much I regret it."

"If you really regretted it, you would have stopped after the first time," Blaine answered. "How long were you going to let this go on? Did you ever plan on stopping it or were you going to let it happen forever?"

"I knew it wouldn't last," Sebastian said quietly. "I knew I'd get caught and it never should have gotten to that point."

"No, it shouldn't have," Blaine spoke, his voice growing louder and shakier with each exchange. "Don't you think you've done enough to him? To me? I hate you, Sebastian. I hate you. I don't ever want you to talk to me again. Kurt, Kurt can make up his own mind, and knowing him, he'll probably forgive you, which means he and I will fall apart. I'm sure that's what you wanted all along right?"

"No, of course I don't want that—"

"Save it," Blaine interrupted. "I'm too tired to deal with you anymore. Just…just stay away from me, okay? Stop calling, stop texting and just leave me alone."

Sebastian stood speechless as Blaine turned around and walked back into the coffee shop. He watched as Jeff handed him his drink and craned his neck to see him as Blaine appeared to be telling him what was said. Sebastian eyed his lukewarm tea sitting at his table and briefly considered going inside to retrieve it before changing his mind.

Walking to his car, he tried his best not to let the tears that were forming in his eyes to fall. He wouldn't allow himself to feel sorry for himself any longer. He deserved the things that Blaine had said to him, the things the other Warblers had been saying about him to his face and to each other in hushed whispers over the last few days.

He was just going to have to tough it out. Bring back the old Sebastian who didn't care about anyone or anything. At least that way it was easier to deal with being despised.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Thanks for the input, everyone! I've really enjoyed everything you've had to say and hearing your predictions for what might happen :)

Warning for this chapter: Strong language (like, VERY strong. Please don't hate me) and slight sexual material, especially near the end.

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara**

* * *

If Kurt thought that going back to Dalton after a long, scrutiny-filled weekend at home with his father would be a refreshing change, he was sadly mistaken. He hadn't been on campus for more than an hour when he heard the first hushed whispers coming from behind him. Dalton may have had a zero-tolerance bullying policy, but the rumor mill was fully functional and the number of people who knew about his supposed transgressions with Sebastian on Friday seemed to have multiplied tenfold by Sunday evening.

He arrived shortly after seven, having been dropped off by his father outside of his dorm building.

"I expect a call in the morning when you wake up and one in the evening before you go to sleep, understood?"

"Yes," Kurt told his father for the seventh time since their car ride began back in Lima.

"Starting tonight," Burt added. Kurt started to protest that this face-to-face interaction should count for the evening, but there was really no point. He was under his father's time for however long it would take to figure out the Daniel situation and clean up the aftermath.

"Kay," Kurt answered, shutting the door behind him. He heard his father call out an "I love you," through the open passenger side window and Kurt mumbled it back over his own shoulder as he shuffled up the walkway to the main entrance. By the time he made it up to his dorm room, he was ready to call it a night. Nick, however, had other plans.

"I'm starving," he complained after they'd exchanged greetings. "Let's go to the dining hall."

"I'm not really hungry, Nick," Kurt said, sounding slightly apologetic. He knew that Nick was social almost to a fault. He couldn't stand going anywhere by himself.

"C'mon Kurt," Nick begged, clutching his stomach for dramatic effect. "I haven't seen you all weekend and tonight is pork chop night on the hot line. Please don't make me go alone."

Kurt grimaced, trying his best to convey that he really, really didn't want to leave the room for the rest of the night, but it was no use. He felt himself caving in to the kicked-puppy look on his roommate's face.

"Fine," he sighed, causing Nick's expression to immediately shift from tortured to gleeful in a split second. "I guess I should eat something anyway."

Nick was already halfway out the door, rocking on the balls of his feet as he waited impatiently for Kurt to trudge up alongside him.

"Have you talked to Blaine yet to let him know you're back?"

Kurt's stomach clenched. He hadn't even thought about it yet.

"Um, no, not yet. My phone's dead."

It was a complete and utter lie, and guilt spread through Kurt instantly. He tried to push the fact that he hadn't contacted Blaine since Friday afternoon to the back of his mind, but it didn't work. What was he supposed to say? How was he supposed to fix this when he wasn't even sure what all needed to be fixed?

"Here, I'll just text Jeff and let him know," Nick offered helpfully, pulling out his cell phone. "I think they went out for coffee or something anyway."

"No," Kurt said a little too forcefully. "Don't. I'll, um, I'll plug my phone up and call him as soon as we get back, okay? Don't bother him while he's out."

"Kurt, I'm sure it's no bother," Nick continued with a confused expression on his face. "Blaine's been asking about you all weekend, I'm sure he'd like to know you're back safe, and-"

"Nick, please," Kurt cut him off. "Can we please...just...can we talk about something else? How was your weekend?"

"Oh, okay. Um, it was alright, I guess. Jeff and I went to..."

Kurt allowed Nick's voice to fade into the background of his thoughts, thankful that his friend finally gave up on trying to contact Blaine on his behalf. At this point, there was no escaping the guilt he felt, even if it stemmed from something completely out of his control. He couldn't help what Daniel had done, right? Sure, he'd learned with a lot of patience and practice to not rely so much on his alters, but when it came down to it, if one of them wanted to come out badly enough, they were going to do it whether Kurt liked it or not. And if one of those alters chose to fool around with Sebastian Smythe...

Kurt stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn't believe that during all the obsession with this new crisis over the weekend, he hadn't stopped to think about the fact that he didn't know exactly what Daniel had done with Sebastian. Blaine told him that he watched Daniel go into Sebastian's room and had heard...noises...but really, that could mean anything. Kurt needed to talk to Sebastian. Maybe it wasn't as bad as Kurt had originally thought.

"Kurt?"

The sound of Nick's concerned voice startled him back into reality. Kurt realized he was stopped in the middle of the pathway in front of the dining hall while Nick faced him a few steps ahead of him.

"Sorry," Kurt apologized before walking quickly to catch up. "I just remembered some English homework I have to get done before tomorrow."

* * *

Kurt and Nick hadn't even made it out of the hot food line when the first murmurs reached their ears. Nick cast a sideways glance at Kurt, hoping he wasn't able to hear what was going on around them.

"I heard it started back last year when they were forced to do all that public speaking together."

"I can't believe Blaine didn't kill Sebastian for screwing his boyfriend."

"I always thought Blaine would be the one to cheat."

"Yeah, who knew Kurt was such a slut."

Kurt had had enough. Slamming his dinner tray down on the line and trying not to let the tears cloud his vision, he broke out of the line and walked as quickly and calmly as he could towards the exit. Whether it was reality or out of paranoia, the voices around him seemed to get louder and louder until he couldn't take it anymore. He broke out into a run and even though he could hear Nick calling after him, he didn't slow down until his legs gave out halfway back to the dorm. He knelt down in the middle of the concrete pathway, trying to calm his pounding heart.

It wasn't fair. None of this was his fault. But unless he wanted the whole school knowing the truth, he was going to have to just accept that people thought he was a horrible, unfaithful jerk. A slut, apparently. Kurt heard footsteps pounding the sidewalk as someone quickly approached him.

"Kurt!" Nick called out breathlessly, slowing his gait as he approached. "I'm so sorry about that. I-I told those guys off, alright? Are you okay?"

Kurt started to nod bravely, but the minute he made eye contact with Nick, he dissolved into tears, shaking his head.

"Oh, Kurt. Let's get you back to the room." Nick whispered sympathetically.

Kurt accepted the hand offered to him and once he was on his feet, the two walked silently back to the dorm.

Once they were safely inside, Kurt didn't bother to get out of his clothes. He crawled into bed and turned to face the wall, not speaking again to Nick, who sat perched on the edge of his own bed, watching his friend. Nick could see the covers draped over Kurt's shoulders moving in shuddering motions as Kurt cried silently. Nick had rarely felt so helpless.

Within about fifteen minutes, Kurt appeared to have stopped crying and the even rise and fall of his shoulders and back seemed to suggest that he'd fallen asleep. It wasn't even eight o'clock, but Kurt must have been exhausted. Spying Kurt's cell phone on his bed stand, he remembered what Kurt had said about the dead battery. He moved to plug it into the charger but was surprised to find that the battery wasn't even close to being dead. In fact, after a few minutes, it beeped to signify that it was full again.

Nick didn't know what to make of it, but he decided to send a message to Jeff about Kurt's arrival anyway. There was no point in making Blaine worry that he hadn't made it back safe yet.

* * *

_To: Jeff_

_From: Nick_

_Kurt's back. He went to sleep after we got back from the dining hall. Long story. Think he's out for the night. Tell Blaine._

Jeff read the text message with a frown playing on his lips. They were still at the Lima Bean and Blaine was still fuming over his interaction with Sebastian. Nick's text suggested more questions than it actually answered, and Jeff intended to ask them all as soon as he was alone with Nick again, but in the meantime, he had to think of something to tell Blaine.

"Looks like Kurt is back," Jeff announced brightly, waving his phone in the air just long enough to signify he'd received the promised text message. "Nick said he's asleep already though, so I guess you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see him."

"It's not even eight o'clock," Blaine said, checking his watch.

"Well," Jeff wracked his brain for an explanation. "I don't know, didn't you say he sleeps a lot after a transition?"

"Yeah," Blaine answered. "Maybe he transitioned more this weekend. Which I would know about if he bothered to talk to me."

"Blaine, don't do this. Just...don't jump to any conclusions until you've talked to him, okay?"

Blaine sighed heavily. Jeff was right. There was no sense in getting upset yet, even if he felt he'd fully earned the right to do so at this point.

* * *

Kurt woke up with a start. Completely disoriented, he fumbled for his cell phone, which was charging on his bedside table. He didn't even remember plugging it up the night before.

_Six-thirty a.m._

Kurt almost rolled over to get another fifteen minutes of sleep before his alarm went off, but then he realized that he completely called to check in with his father the night before. Checking his phone again, he winced when he noticed the three missed calls this time. Selecting his father's cell phone number, he closed his eyes as he listened to the phone ring on the other end. After two rings, he heard Burt's tired voice on the other end.

"I hope you have a good reason for not calling last night like I asked you to."

"I fell asleep as soon as I got here," Kurt answered, which only felt like half a lie. "I must have been really tired."

There was a pause on the other end, and Kurt knew his father was trying to decide if this was an acceptable excuse.

"Alright, well, just remember to call tonight, okay?"

"I will," Kurt promised, thankful that he was getting off the hook so easily. "I gotta go get ready for class."

They exchanged goodbyes and Kurt ended the call, placing the phone back on his bedside table before turning over and opting to try to sleep for those last few minutes. It was a futile effort though, as soon as Kurt remembered why he had to get up that morning.

Class.

Classmates.

More whispering.

More rumors.

More ugly names.

Kurt groaned quietly and pulled the covers over his head. When he was little, Kurt was afraid that witches would come and steal him away from his mom and dad in the night while they slept. For some reason, he thought that as long as his head was covered by his sheets, he would be invisible and the witches would pass him by. Unfortunately he was old enough now to know that this plan had absolutely no chance of working. He was going to have to get up and face the day head on. And he was going to have to do it with his chin held high.

But first he needed to talk to Sebastian. He needed to know exactly what Daniel had done with him so that he knew how to approach the whole situation. He was sure that despite everything else, Sebastian would be honest with him about what the two of them had done. Despite this one slip-up, Kurt desperately wanted to believe that Sebastian was reformed. He didn't know if they could be friends anymore, but Sebastian at least owed him the truth.

Throwing his covers off with a renewed sense of purpose, Kurt got up and began his morning hygiene routine. He moved quickly, in hopes of catching Sebastian in his room before he left for class. The last thing Kurt needed was to be seen conversing with Sebastian in public.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, Kurt knocked quietly on Sebastian's door. He was starting to worry that Sebastian was already gone, when the door finally creaked open. Sebastian looked at him with a mixture of confusion and intrigue on his face.

"Daniel?" he ventured quietly.

"No, it's...it's Kurt," he answered as heat flushed his cheeks. "Can I come in for a minute?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Sebastian answered, leaning his arm on the door frame above his head. The casualness of the gesture seemed out of place considering the circumstances. There was something about Sebastian that was making Kurt feel very uneasy.

"Look, I just have a few questions about...well I'm not really sure, what...you know, what you and Dan-"

"You want to know what Daniel and I did together," Sebastian interrupted bluntly. Kurt involuntarily cleared his throat at the abruptness of it all.

"Well, yeah, kind of, I mean, Blaine only told me what he saw and heard, so..." Kurt stuttered. He was starting to feel as miserable and embarrassed as he had the night before in the dining hall. And just when he thought he couldn't feel any worse, Sebastian smirked and shook his head in amusement.

"I don't know what's so funny," Kurt said, his voice rising with emotion.

"You are," Sebastian chuckled, taking in the wounded look that was spreading on Kurt's face. "This whole situation is hilarious, isn't it? I've been with you and you don't even remember it."

Kurt could feel tears gathering in his eyes.

"Why are you being this way?" he whispered harshly to Sebastian as the boy continued to laugh lightly.

"You want to know what Daniel and I did?" Sebastian asked. "We did everything. I mean it. Mostly, I let you fuck me, which you should really take as a compliment, trust me."

"You mean him," Kurt corrected with a wavering voice, but Sebastian continued right over him.

"We did things that I'd never even thought of before, things even the nasty little sluts in France didn't do. Things I never ever thought sweet, innocent, little Kurt Hummel would ever dream of, let alone do."

"Stop it," Kurt begged. He wanted to leave, but his feet felt glued to the floor.

"All that stuff was absolutely amazing, really. But you know what?" Sebastian leaned in with a sneer. "The last night we were together, I fucked you. I fucked you so hard that I'm amazed you were able to walk out of here. But I guess that just goes to show that you've been practicing really hard with Blaine."

"Leave Blaine out of this!" Kurt growled angrily. His head was spinning and he felt like he was going to throw up, but the second Blaine's name was mentioned, he wanted to kill Sebastian.

"Oh, you say that now," Sebastian laughed. "But every night when you left you would tell me how much better I was than him. That you were just using him because he's so fucking gullible and naïve to think that you actually _love_ him. Your words not mine."

"You're a liar, Sebastian," he responded shakily. "I don't know why I ever believed you'd changed. You're nothing but a sad, pathetic, waste of time and space."

Sebastian seemed to contemplate this for a moment. He reached behind his halfway open door to grab something, which turned out to be his satchel. An Econ textbook peeked out, but he nonchalantly shoved it back in. As he walked out of the room and shut the door, he leaned in close to Kurt's ear.

"And you're nothing but a filthy little come dumpster."

Kurt stayed rooted to the ground as he watched Sebastian's casually retreating form walk away from him. He looked around slowly, hoping and praying that no one in the surrounding rooms had heard the exchange.

He still felt like he was going to throw up when he stumbled away from Sebastian's room and made his way into the commons area off to the side, practically falling down onto one of the couches when he reached it. It was all too much. His breath quickened and he felt dizzy. _Close your eyes, Kurt_, a voice within him said and he obliged, allowing himself to slip into that murky non-sleep stage that he was so familiar with.

* * *

It had been quite a while since Conrad made an appearance in the outside world, but after hearing the exchange between Kurt and that son of a bitch, he decided it was as good a time as any.

As he opened his eyes and cracked his knuckles, he tried to decide who he wanted to kill first, Sebastian or those bastards from the dining hall the night before.

Getting up from the couch, he sauntered slowly toward the exit and formulated his plan of attack.

He'd let this go on too long, and now if Conrad had his say, heads were going to roll.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Please see extended author's note at the end.

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara**

* * *

"We…are so late…unggghh."

Jeff could barely get the words out. He was having a hard time concentrating with Nick's mouth wrapped tightly around his cock. Nick bobbed his head a few more times before pulling off with a wet smack.

"You want me to stop?" he panted, looking up at Jeff. Nick was on his knees in front of him. They were both in their Dalton uniforms, although currently, Jeff's pants were pooled around his ankles. Jeff had arrived at Nick and Kurt's room fifteen minutes earlier to walk Nick to class, but things didn't really go as planned. Not that Jeff minded one bit.

"God, no," Jeff frowned, looking down at Nick, his hands still clenched in Nick's hair. Nick shot him a sly grin before getting back to work.

_Class be damned_, Jeff thought to himself as he closed his eyes and threw his head back, concentrating all of his focus on how good Nick's mouth felt around him. If they gave out awards for the best blow jobs, Nick would have to build a trophy room. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that they would have at least a few Saturday morning detentions if they were late to homeroom again, since it would be the third tardy since school started less than a month ago. Jeff and Nick got distracted quite a bit in the mornings.

A few minutes later, Jeff was coming hard in Nick's mouth, while Nick continued to work him through his orgasm. As hard as it was to keep standing, Jeff groaned and reached down to pull up his pants and then helped Nick to his feet.

"You're amazing," he breathed, leaning in to give Nick a deep kiss. There was something sexy about tasting himself in Nick's mouth and Nick was happy to oblige.

"We need to get to class," Nick said after pulling away and resting on Jeff's cheek. Jeff could feel his smile against him.

"Whatever," Jeff answered flippantly. "We're already screwed."

As they continued to make out, Jeff was contemplating returning the favor when he caught something in the window out of the corner of his eye. He pulled away from Nick and walked over to the window to get a closer look.

"What is it?" Nick asked, walking up behind him.

"It's Kurt," Jeff answered, confused.

"Or not," Nick added.

It was definitely Kurt's body storming across the courtyard away from Sebastian's dorm and toward the academic quad. But he was stripped down to his undershirt and uniform pants and his hands were balled up as if he was about to punch someone.

"Yeah, I'm thinking not," Jeff agreed. "Let's go find out."

Both boys rushed to the door, leaving their bags behind them. The day was shot now anyhow, and if the look on their friend's face was any indication of what he was planning, intervening was much more important than going to class anyway.

As they rushed down the stairs and out of the side entrance of their dorm, they spotted Kurt about a hundred yards away, making quick work of getting across campus.

"Kurt!" Nick called out, but he didn't turn around or even slow down. With a quick glance at each other, the two boys took off toward their friend. They'd have to be quick if they wanted to avoid making a scene, and Kurt was nearly at the inner courtyard of the academic quad, and homeroom would be letting out at any moment.

Jeff and Nick quickly caught up with him, their fast sprint easily outpacing Kurt's determined stalk, and they surrounded him on either side.

"Kurt?" Nick tried again, even though he knew it wasn't Kurt. He wasn't sure how else to figure out exactly who he was talking to.

"Name's Conrad, Duval," he snarled. "Get it right."

Nick looked over his shoulder at Jeff. They both felt a mixture of relief and fear. Relief because now they knew who they were dealing with, and fear because they were dealing with Conrad.

"Right, Conrad," Jeff piped in. "Where you headed, dude?"

"Just got some unfinished business to take care of is all," Conrad answered, sounding annoyed.

"Look, if this has to do with Sebastian—"

Jeff stopped himself when Conrad whirled around to him and got up in his face.

"What do you know about it?" he growled. If Jeff had to guess, he would say that he was one wrong answer away from getting punched in the jaw.

"Nothing," Jeff answered quickly, putting his hands up to his chest in self-defense. "The guy's a dick, I just figured that if you're angry with someone, there's a good chance it's him."

Conrad backed off a bit and Jeff let out a small sight of relief.

"Yeah, well, he messed with the wrong guy and I'm going to make sure he isn't able to do it again, I can tell you that much. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got somewhere I need to be."

As he stalked off again, Jeff looked at Nick helplessly.

"W-wait!" Nick called out hesitantly. Conrad stopped, but didn't turn around.

"What about Kurt?" Nick continued, not really sure what he was going to say next, but encouraged by the fact that for the moment, Conrad was distracted enough to stop. "He's going to get in a lot of trouble if you hurt Sebastian."

"Yeah," Jeff added, as Conrad finally started to turn around to face them. "It's his senior year, man. His second one, really. If you screw up this one, he doesn't get another chance."

Nick and Jeff watched as a strange look fell over Conrad's face. It looked like he was about to pass out, and fearing that he would, they both rushed to either side of him, grabbing his elbows.

"Conrad?" Nick asked tentatively. The boy's head bowed now, and Nick and Jeff felt a bit of his weight transfer to where they held him.

"Hey! Snap out of it!" Jeff yelled, feeling slightly panicky. The last thing they needed was to have him pass out in the middle of the yard. The giant clock on the front of the Science and Math building indicated that homeroom would be letting out in three minutes.

Finally, he lifted his head and regained his posture, shrugging gently out of Nick and Jeff's grasps. With bright eyes, he looked to either side of him and smiled softly.

"Well, excuse me, gentleman," he spoke with a light, airy voice. "Forgive my manners, but who are you?"

This was not Conrad. And if Jeff had to guess, it was Gina. They'd never met her, but they'd heard enough to figure out that this was probably who they were meeting now.

"I'm Jeff, and this is Nick," Jeff answered. Nick offered a small, confused wave when she looked in his direction.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Gina," she spoke, offering her hand in a way that suggested that she expected Jeff to lift it to his mouth and kiss it. There was no way Jeff was going to do that in the middle of campus, so he simply grabbed it briefly and squeezed.

"The, uh, the pleasure is ours," Jeff answered, the gears in his brain moving quickly as he tried to figure out where to go from here. "Listen, can we escort you back to Kurt's room? We, um, have to….um…."

"Don't worry, dear," Gina answered, patting him lightly on the arm. "I know what Conrad was planning to do. Why do you think I stepped in?"

"Right," Jeff said, his face growing red for some strange reason. The whole situation was beyond bizarre. "Let's get going then."

They began to walk away, getting out of the courtyard just in the nick of time. Nick and Jeff both sighed audibly in relief as they heard the bell sound, knowing they were far enough away now to keep from drawing any suspicion.

"You boys and your aggression," Gina tsk'd, shaking her head good-naturedly, as if one teenager setting off to murder another was just a case of 'boys will be boys.' "What ever happened to sitting down with a cup of tea and a slice of chocolate cake and just talking things out?"

"Cake sounds good," Nick answered earnestly and Jeff couldn't help but let out a snicker.

"Well I suppose I could make a cake. I just need a few ingredients, but I'm sure your dorm mother has the kitchen well-stocked…"

Jeff let Gina's voice fade in the background of his mind as he tried to think through what their next course of action should be. Of course, dealing with Gina was highly preferable than trying to reign in Conrad, but it still didn't solve the problem. Kurt was transitioning again and one of his alters was hell bent on killing Sebastian. Not to mention the fact that Blaine was probably sitting in class at this very moment, completely clueless to the chaos around him.

They needed Kurt back. And as good as homemade chocolate cake sounded, Jeff would rather lose Gina in favor of Kurt so that they could figure out exactly what needed to be done before someone got hurt.

* * *

**Author's note: **Hey guys, thanks for reading as always. I wanted to let you know that I'm taking a break from writing. I don't know how long, it could be a week, but it could be longer and I thought it was fair that I warned you. I've got a lot going on right now and I guess the best way to put it is that life is giving me more than I can handle and because of that, I'm not really in the right frame of mind to be able to write well. So rather than post mediocre chapters out of a feeling of obligation, I'm stepping away for a while until life gets more manageable.

Thanks for understanding, and I apologize in advance if it takes me a while to get my shit together. I will be back, I promise.

-cc16


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Hey everyone. So I'm back much sooner than I thought. Things are still pretty rough right now, but to make a long story short, I guess I gained a bit of perspective over the last few days, so...I'm going to do my best to update as often as I can from now on.

I want to thank those of you who sent me messages wishing me well. It meant the world to me, you really have no idea how much I appreciate your support. Thanks for being so wonderful :) Alright, well on to the story, I suppose. Thanks as always for reading.

Oh, one more thing...this chapter is dedicated to EH...I may be completely crazy in thinking you may have somehow found this, but if you have...sorry for the smut (of which there is none in this chapter)... :)

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara**

* * *

_It was dark._

_Not pitch black, which may have ironically been less scary, but dark enough that one could only make out rudimentary outlines of shapes and figures as they moved, or didn't move, throughout the room. He didn't know how long he'd been there. It seemed like forever since he'd been outside in the sun. Forever since he'd felt safe, secure and the carefree innocence that attached itself to anyone who'd never been in true danger._

_But kids are stubborn when it comes to giving up hope. Sure, no one had ever told him that something like this could happen. Or maybe they had in his preschool class. Maybe that was what his teacher was always lecturing on, this "stranger danger" that he was supposed to remember. But who could remember something so boring as that when there were so many other fun, less scary parts about life? Who would bother making a place in their brain for staying safe when that space could be better occupied with planning out a Lego tower or super racecar track? After all, isn't that what adults were for, to keep kids safe from the monsters?_

_He guessed not. But it was too late to go back now. Adults hadn't kept him safe and now he knew that adults were sometimes monsters too._

_It was dark, and Mikey Rawlings was scared._

* * *

"You can't keep shutting me out Kurt."

Kurt lowered his forehead to the table in exhaustion and frustration.

"I'm not shutting you out, Blaine," he mumbled, his voice echoing off the hardwood tabletop. "I don't know what you want from me. I've got too much going on right now to be a mind reader."

"I want you to stop ignoring me, for one," Blaine answered.

"We should go," Nick and Jeff spoke in unison, casting uncomfortable looks at the two boys across from them.

"No," Kurt answered quickly, lifting his head from the table. "I need you here so you can tell me exactly what happened with Conrad."

"Again?" Jeff said with a hint of frustration. "Kurt, we've been over every single moment of this at least five times."

"Well, not every moment," Nick added. "We didn't tell him that I was giving you—"

"Unnecessary detail," Jeff interrupted, turning a deep shade of red, which was Nick's goal in the first place. He wanted to help Kurt, but he was beyond bored with the constant retracing of footsteps.

"So he said he wanted to kill Sebastian?" Kurt asked. Blaine, who had kept his eyes on his boyfriend, waiting for him to respond to his feelings of being excluded, finally turned his head away and shook it in frustration.

"I don't know if he used those exact words," Jeff said, trying to recall the conversation. "But it was definitely implied."

"We need to warn Sebastian," Kurt muttered.

"Why?" Blaine asked angrily, whipping his head back in Kurt's direction. "Maybe he deserves it."

"You don't mean that," Kurt said, dismissing Blaine with a flip of his hand.

"Let's stay focused here, boys," Jeff intervened. "Kurt, what's the last thing you remember this morning?"

Kurt cast his eyes toward the ceiling. "Hmm…I remember leaving the room because I wanted to go talk to Sebastian, and I remember knocking on his door and him answering. I guess that's it."

"Sounds like we need to find out what you and Sebastian said to each other," Nick piped in. "Maybe he said something that triggered something in Conrad."

"I don't know," Kurt answered quietly. "Didn't you say that he seemed pretty remorseful when you talked to him last night?"

"He _seemed_ that way," Blaine admitted reluctantly. "But let's not forget who we're dealing with here."

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"He's got a point, Kurt," Nick said quietly. He could see how much Kurt's behavior was hurting Blaine and as much as he loved Kurt, Blaine needed some validation if he wasn't going to get any from Kurt.

"Thank you," Blaine answered, feeling slightly justified.

"Fine," Kurt said. "I'll just go talk to big, scary Sebastian again and get this thing figured out."

"Wait," Jeff stopped him as he was getting up from the table. "Maybe someone else should talk to him, just in case Conrad decides to make another appearance."

Kurt froze. He hated to admit it, but Jeff brought up a good point. There was just something so invasive about the idea of someone else going to talk to Sebastian about their supposedly torrid and secret love affair.

"I'll go," Blaine volunteered. He was positive that Sebastian had done something to trigger Kurt and he was eager to be the one to get to the bottom of it.

"Also a terrible idea," Jeff said.

"I'll do it then," Nick offered. Jeff couldn't help but remember what had happened the last time that Nick and Sebastian were alone in the same room together.

"We'll go together," Jeff sighed. "That way there will be two witnesses and less chance for something to go wrong."

Kurt nodded in agreement, despite the fact that he hated the idea of sending his two friends off on such an awkward and personal task.

"Alright, it's settled then," he spoke tensely. "I'll just um, I'll just wait to hear from you guys."

Kurt got up from the table without saying goodbye and walked out of the study room, heading down the hall to his and Nick's dorm room. Jeff and Nick looked at Blaine, waiting for the fall out.

"What the hell was that?" Blaine hissed when they heard the door to Kurt's room open and close. "Why is he treating me like I'm a fucking interloper instead of his boyfriend?"

"Calm down, Blaine," Jeff spoke calmly back. "Just give him some time to sort all of this out. Be patient with him."

"Patient?" Blaine asked incredulously, his voice growing louder. "I have been a saint with him and this whole mess from the very beginning. He—It's like he's deliberately pushing me away. Like he's trying to get me to leave him."

"Okay, we've been over this," Jeff answered, trying not to let his exasperation come through in his voice. "Kurt loves you, and I doubt he's trying to make you break up with him."

"Yeah, well, we'll see about that."

Nick and Jeff watched in disbelief as Blaine got up from the table and stormed out of the room.

"What the hell was that supposed to mean?" Jeff asked, turning to Nick. Nick shrugged his shoulders and tried his best to appear nonchalant. In reality, he was troubled more than he felt he should be over the state of his two best friends' relationship. Nick had been in the habit of telling himself that if Kurt and Blaine could make it work despite all the hurdles that came their way, then anyone could. Even though he and Jeff had been dating longer, he looked up to Kurt and Blaine's relationship and the idea of it falling apart made him anxious and sad.

"I'm starving," Nick finally spoke, pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind. "Let's grab some dinner and then we'll track down Sebastian."

* * *

Sebastian had been slightly on edge all day, ever since his conversation with Kurt before class started. He'd been even more worried when he didn't see Kurt for the rest of the day. The entire time he'd talked to Kurt, as he said each of those horrible things to him, he felt terrible. The look on Kurt's face had almost broken his heart, but what was he supposed to do? His entire life, he'd learned the hard way that people couldn't be trusted. Every time he let his guard down, someone would remind him why it was such a bad idea. Sure, this time he was mostly to blame. If only he'd resisted Daniel the first time, or even stopped letting him in once he knew what was going on, he probably wouldn't be sitting on the outside looking in once again.

Nonetheless, that was where he found himself now, and with his father refusing to let him leave Dalton, he would have to survive it the only way he knew how—by being a complete and utter dick.

He was surprised when he heard a knock at his door for the second time that day. It was just after eight in the evening and he should have been tackling some homework, but instead he was trolling Facebook, trying to ignore all of the thinly veiled allusions to his and Kurt's affair. He felt bad that the story being passed around was that Kurt had been unfaithful to Blaine, since that wasn't really the truth. People expected something like this from Sebastian, but not from sweet Kurt.

Sebastian tore his eyes away from the computer screen and made his way slowly to the door, preparing for Kurt or Blaine to be on the other side. He wasn't expecting to see Jeff and Nick come into view when he opened the door.

"What do you two want?" he asked snidely.

"We need to talk," Jeff said, pushing his way past Sebastian into the room. Nick followed in closely behind him.

"I don't think there's anything to talk about, but please, come in and make yourself at home."

"What did you say to Kurt this morning?" Nick asked, ignoring Sebastian's sarcasm.

"Let's see," Sebastian said, biting his lower lip in mock concentration. "He asked me what happened between he and I and I told him."

"What exactly did you tell him?" Jeff asked.

"Well aren't you a little horny voyeur?" Sebastian laughed, secretly enjoying the look on Jeff's face. Maybe falling back into this routine wouldn't be as hard as he imagined.

"Listen," Jeff growled, getting in Sebastian's face. "Let's just say that it would be in your best interest if you tell us exactly what happened this morning."

"Alright, alright, down boy," Sebastian threw his hands up and smiled, pretending to be frightened by Jeff's aggression. "I basically told him what a little slut he was in bed with me and that was it. Rather short conversation actually."

"You're a liar," Nick said, unable to control his disgust. "Kurt is the farthest thing from a slut and you know it."

"Maybe," Sebastian agreed. "But you don't know Daniel. And you especially don't know him like I do. Now if you boys will excuse me, I've got stuff to do that doesn't involve preparing you for your nightly wet dreams. Get the fuck out."

Nick opened his mouth to say something, but Jeff grabbed him by the arm as he made his way from the room.

"C'mon, Nick," he grunted, pulling him out of the room and slamming the door.

"I hate him," Nick said angrily as they walked away.

"At least we know what triggered him," Jeff responded. "Didn't you say those assholes in the hot food line last night called Kurt a slut?"

"Yeah," Nick answered. "He pretty much ignored everything else until that."

Jeff didn't answer as they made their way back to their dorm.

"So what do we tell Kurt?" Nick asked as they approached the entrance.

"I don't know," Jeff sighed. "For right now, just tell him that Blaine was right. We can't trust Sebastian and Kurt shouldn't try to talk to him again. And we need to keep an eye on him in class and during breaks tomorrow. Just in case Conrad comes back."

Nick nodded. Between him, Jeff and Blaine, someone was in the same room with Kurt all day long. But who knew if Blaine would cooperate with them?

"What about Blaine?" Nick asked the same question that was rolling through Jeff's mind.

"I'll work on Blaine, okay? Just make sure Kurt knows to stay away from Sebastian."

The two boys said goodnight and went their separate ways, knowing that each of their roommates would be back in their rooms, waiting for answers.

As Nick made his way back to his shared room with Kurt, he hoped that he would be able to give Kurt a satisfactory answer without triggering him again. It was going to be difficult, but at this point, all he could do was go in there and hope for the best.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** No special warnings for this chapter. Thanks for reading :)

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara**

* * *

Surprisingly, Kurt took the limited information that Nick gave him about his and Jeff's meeting with Sebastian fairly well. Maybe it was because he trusted the two of them to know what was best, but Nick knew that it was mostly due to Kurt's exhaustion. After a semi-restful weekend at home, Kurt hadn't had the best couple of days back on campus.

Jeff had been surprised by Blaine's reaction as well. Or rather, his lack of reaction. Jeff had never seen his friend act so apathetic about anything. He just lied there on his bed, throwing a Nerf football toward the ceiling over and over as Jeff spoke.

He must of said some pretty awful things to Kurt to make Conrad react that way," Jeff finally said, hoping to elicit some sort of response from Blaine other than the boredom he seemed to be projecting. When Blaine didn't respond, Jeff walked over and snatched the football midair.

"What the hell is wrong you, dude?" Jeff snapped. "Are you even listening to what I'm saying?"

"Of course I'm listening," Blaine said, sitting up and throwing his legs over the side of the bed. "But what do you want me to do about it? Kurt is acting like I don't even exist. What's the point of getting all upset about it if he's just going to treat me like an annoying fly buzzing around his head?"

"You're being childish," Jeff scolded, although he couldn't help but admit to himself that Blaine had a point.

"I don't think I am, Jeff," Blaine responded, standing up from his bed and grabbing his keys and wallet. "I think I'm giving Kurt exactly what he wants."

"Oh yeah?" Jeff called out to him as he walked out of the room. "And what's that?"

Blaine turned around and paused for a moment, looking at the floor in front of him.

"Space," he answered simply as he walked down the hall toward the stairwell.

* * *

It was Monday night and Burt Hummel was having a hard time sleeping. He was worried about Kurt, even though he'd called him that evening just as they'd discussed.

His son had been through so much over the last few years. It just didn't seem fair that things seemed to be taking a downturn out of the blue after all the hard work Kurt had done over the past year.

Burt poured himself a cup of coffee, despite knowing that it would do absolutely nothing to help his insomnia and walked into the living room to turn on the television. He didn't sit down, because he knew himself well enough to know he wouldn't be getting back up if he did. He'd be sucked into the world of late-night infomercials and the daylight would begin creeping in on him by the time he realized he didn't get any sleep.

The television came on and the sounds of the local news flooded the room. Wincing, he jammed the volume button down until it was just loud enough to hear. Burt watched as the anchorwoman was replaced with a reporter standing in front of a large, empty field. It must have been a repeat broadcast since the shot was taken during the day.

"Officials are still baffled by the disappearance of three year old Mikey Rawlings a little over two weeks ago from his grandmother's front yard. Search parties have turned up nothing and K-9 units from across the county have yet to pick up a trail."

Burt took a sip of his coffee as various shots of police cars with flashing lights and people walking arm-in-arm through wooded areas flashed across the scene. As the report continued to talk in the background, a picture of a little boy came on the screen.

"Viewers are urged once again to contact the Westerville Police Department if they have any clues about the disappearance of Mikey Rawlings. Any and all leads are being handled with the utmost—"

"Burt! Are you alright?"

Burt nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Carole's concerned voice as she approached him from behind.

"Yeah, fine, I just couldn't sleep," he mumbled as he reached for the power button on the television remote. His eyes were still glued to the image of the boy on the screen.

"What happened?" Carole asked. "I heard a crash."

It was then that Burt realized his coffee cup was no longer in his grip and his socks were growing wet. He looked down and saw his shattered mug on the hardwood floor around him.

"Sorry, I must have…" Burt trailed off. Must have what? Maybe he was more tired than he thought.

"It's okay, sweetie," Carole filled in. "I'll clean it up. Why don't you go try to get some sleep?"

"Yeah," Burt said distantly. "Thanks, honey."

After stripping off his coffee-soaked socks, he made his way slowly up the stairs. Something about the missing boy didn't sit well with Burt. _Of course it doesn't sit well_, Burt thought to himself. After everything he learned about his son's past last year, it only made sense that he would react negatively to a story like Mikey's. Still, Burt found it even more difficult to fall asleep that night than he thought he would have, had he not turned on the evening news.

* * *

Kurt had a hard time concentrating in class the next day. It was technically his first day back in class since the fallout of last week's discovery of Daniel's relationship with Sebastian and the first time he was willingly going back to face the not-so-quiet judgment of his classmates. On top of that, it was Tuesday, which meant Warbler practice and seeing Sebastian again, if Sebastian even decided to show up. Kurt wasn't so sure he wanted to attend himself.

It had been odd not talking to Blaine since the day before when he, Kurt, Jeff and Nick were all gathered trying to come up with a game plan to handle the Conrad situation. Kurt couldn't help but feel a bit guilty at the relief he felt when he realized Blaine hadn't tried to contact him at all that night or in the morning. He was just dealing with too much to have to worry about where he stood with Blaine.

Kurt knew that Blaine would forgive him in a heartbeat for what happened with Sebastian. In fact, Kurt was pretty sure Blaine forgave him the moment he found out what had happened. The problem was, Kurt didn't forgive himself, and accepting Blaine's unconditional love, support and forgiveness didn't seem right to him. In some twisted way, Kurt wanted to be punished whether Blaine was willing to play along or not. Unfortunately, Kurt couldn't see that the one that he was punishing the most with his behavior was Blaine himself.

Nonetheless, Blaine offered nothing more than a small, tight smile in each of their two shared classes and at lunch time, he said a few seats down at the Warbler table, sandwiched between Nick and Joshua. Kurt watched him as he ate, and smiled when Blaine tossed his head back, laughing at some joke Joshua whispered to him. He was glad to see Blaine happy despite what was going on with him, even if it hurt him a little knowing that he couldn't share in whatever was giving Blaine joy in that moment.

Warbler practice was tense to say the least. Sebastian was there, though he didn't take up residence in his usual spot on the couch with Kurt. Instead, he lurked behind the group, near the back wall, offering nothing but a raised hand during the voting session. No one seemed to pay him or Kurt any special mind, which gave Kurt hope that the whole thing had blown over already. Blaine sat next to Kurt in his usual spot, but it almost felt like it was out of obligation to Kurt. Kurt felt the slightest twinge of uneasiness starting to grow in his belly as the practice was dismissed and Blaine didn't wait for Kurt to gather his belongings before leaving on his own. By the time Kurt was ready to go, he and Nick were the only ones left in the room.

"How did it go today?" Nick asked as cheerfully as he could muster. Kurt could see in his eyes that he was prepared for the worst possible answer.

"Not bad, actually," Kurt answered lightly and it was the truth. Aside from the weirdness with Blaine, the day couldn't have gone better. "Am I crazy to think that everyone has just forgotten about the whole thing?"

"No, it's not crazy," Nick said thoughtfully. "Maybe people haven't forgotten, but you know how high school is. I'm sure everyone's just moved on to the next piece of hot gossip."

Kurt grin matched Nick's as they slowly made their way out of the room. Kurt was about to open his mouth to ask Nick a question about their shared Chemistry class when he spotted Sebastian leaning up against the wall at the end of the hall with his arms crossed, staring at Kurt.

Kurt and Nick stopped in their tracks. The way Sebastian was staring at Kurt was predatory, almost scaring Kurt enough to want to go back into the room and barricade himself inside. Just as Kurt was going to suggest that he and Nick do just that, Sebastian kicked himself off the wall and sauntered out the door, his eyes trained on Kurt the entire time until he was walking in the opposite direction.

"What was that about?" Kurt muttered, his voice shaking almost as much as his hands. Now that Sebastian was out of sight, he could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins and a thin layer of sweat gathering on his forehead. He wasn't sure why, but something about the way Sebastian stared him down scared him and he had no idea what to make of it.

"No clue," Nick said quietly, affirming Kurt's confusion over the whole situation and wishing he hadn't quietly told Jeff to go with Blaine when he saw him leaving the practice room a few minutes earlier. "Maybe we should wait here for a few minutes to make sure he clears out."

"Good idea," Kurt nodded, stepping back into the room. He hated feeling trapped like this, but Nick was right. Whatever was up with Sebastian, he wasn't quite sure a run in with him would be the best way to find out.

* * *

Sebastian had no idea why he felt compelled to wait for Kurt to leave the choir room, but as soon as he laid eyes on the boy as he walked out with Nick, he was glad he did.

He hated to admit it, but Sebastian missed Daniel. He missed the way Daniel took charge when they were together, the look in his eyes right before he took Sebastian in his mouth, and the way it felt to have Daniel inside of him.

Unfortunately, Daniel wasn't real. But Kurt was, and the minute Sebastian saw him outside of the choir room, he knew he wouldn't rest until he had another taste of him. Whether it was Daniel or Kurt was irrelevant. Sebastian just knew he needed him one more time.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Warning: A bit of non-con in this chapter. Thanks for reading.

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara.**

* * *

_Thump thump thump thump thump…_

Blaine let the bass echoing in his ears overwhelm his other senses as he sank deeper onto the barstool, if such a thing were even possible. If he sank any deeper, he may become part of the tacky décor that populated Scandals, the only gay bar for miles.

It had been easy enough to get in. Cooper, Blaine's older brother, had made him a fake ID for his eighteenth birthday. It was supposed to be a gag gift, but Blaine knew that Cooper had done it with the tiny hope that maybe, just maybe, his prude of a little brother might put it to good use. But surely Cooper hadn't been envisioning this scenario.

Blaine was already four beers in and it was only eight o'clock on a Friday night. He'd ducked out of school right as the final bell rang and had traveled up to Lima solo. Sure, he probably could have gotten someone to go with him, Nick and Jeff maybe, Josh definitely, but Blaine wanted to be alone tonight. Well, that wasn't quite true. Blaine just wanted to be anonymous. He was going to embrace the persona of the guy on his fake ID. The guy that had his face, but nothing else. Maybe Kurt shouldn't be the only one allowed to escape for a while.

* * *

"I'll trade you two wheat for a lumber," Finn said desperately. "Come on that's a deal."

"I don't have any lumber," Kurt answered, trying to keep the boredom out of his voice. Finn was home from the army for good, having received an honorable discharge for a less than honorable goof-up in boot camp. Frankly, the clumsy teenager was lucky to be alive. Now, with Rachel gone to New York and Kurt ordered to come home every weekend until the Daniel situation was sorted out, both boys were feeling a bit stir crazy.

"Alright, fine, I'll give you two wheat and an ore for one measly lumber."

"Finn, I'm serious, I don't have a lumber, just end your turn."

Kurt could tell his impatience had gotten the best of him by the looks on Finn's and Artie's faces.

"Maybe bringing over Settlers of Catan was a bad idea," Artie mumbled nervously. He'd been surprised and somewhat flattered when his two former classmates had invited him over, but the whole night, Kurt just seemed to be on edge.

Artie and Kurt had never been particularly close. Kurt was an enigma to him, as he was to the rest of the Glee club. He'd had some problems in the past few years with illness, causing him to miss a lot of school and eventually after a failed homeschooling attempt, he had to repeat his senior year. But Artie found himself inexplicably drawn to Kurt. He sympathized with him, with his experiences being bullied, with his disbelief in God. He never felt comfortable talking to Kurt about any of it, but he had the feeling that if he wanted to, Kurt would be open to it.

"No," Kurt sighed. "I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my mind."

"Boy troubles?" Finn asked with mock concern. He'd done it in a teasing, big-brother kind of way, but when Kurt's eyes flashed with unshed tears, he immediately regretted saying it.

"What did he do, Kurt?" Finn asked immediately, his protectiveness of Kurt arising out of nowhere. "Do I need to go have a talk with him?"

"No, it's nothing," Kurt answered dismissively, waving a hand. "Well, it's not nothing, but it's…it's my fault."

Kurt shot Finn a look that he hope conveyed the message that they would discuss it more later, and after a few awkward moments of silence, Finn seemed to catch on. Meanwhile, Artie sat in the middle, casting confused glances between the two of them.

"I can, uh, I can give you a brick if you want," Kurt mumbled, looking at his cards and eager to switch topics. "For your two wheats."

Finn didn't really need the brick, but he accepted the trade, his mind swimming with concern. He had a feeling things weren't completely normal back home, but no one had talked to him about it yet since he got home the morning prior and he wasn't one to pry. Looking at Kurt now, as if really seeing him for the first time since his homecoming, he could tell something was wrong, and it wasn't just problems with Blaine. It was something bigger.

* * *

"What's your name?"

The man's mouth was so close to Blaine's ear as he asked the question that Blaine could feel his hot, sticky breath clinging to the crevices, which were already well-coated with sweat. He'd been on the dance floor for a solid hour, stopping only for the occasional chug when the song changed. Now he found himself leaning heavily back against this man who was grinding him from behind. He couldn't have been older than thirty, but it was obvious that he had much more experience than Blaine. In the fog of his drunkenness, Blaine struggled to remember the name on his ID.

"Charlie," he shouted back over the music. He could feel the man smile against his ear.

"Well, come on, Charlie," the man shouted back, grabbing onto Blaine's wrist and pulling him toward the back of the bar. "I want to show you something."

"Show me something," Blaine slurred to himself as he struggled to keep up with the man, who had not only neglected to return the favor of telling Blaine his name, but who had obviously had much less to drink than him. The air was blurry around him, and he wasn't sure if it was from the smoke or from his inebriation or both. But really, he didn't care. He was having fun. And the mystery man was cute and a good dancer and now he was going to show Blaine something and Blaine was only a little bit uneasy about it.

Apparently the "something" was the dank, dirty, low-lit bathroom at the very back of the club. There was a cleaner, better stocked one near the front, but it was obvious that this one was used for something else by the club-goers.

Blaine winced as he caught a sight of himself in the scummy bathroom mirror being dragged along. His hair was a mess and his button up shirt was already half undone and covered in sweat. Suddenly, Blaine wasn't so excited to be back there with the man.

"What's your name?" he asked in a way that he hoped sounded nonchalant as the man pushed him up against the wall. The man just chuckled as his hands groped Blaine's chest and back. Blaine was about to ask again when suddenly his head was thrust back sharply by a hand that held a fistful of his hair and the man's mouth was on Blaine's.

Blaine whimpered slightly in surprise and panic before trying to push the man away. It was no use. Blaine was beyond drunk and with his head cocked back at an awkward angle, he was no match for the man's strength.

When the man reached down to touch Blaine through his pants, he was able to turn his head swiftly to the side, breaking the man's mouth off of his.

"Stop!" he shouted, feeling much more sober than he had five seconds previously. It was amazing how quickly one could be brought to their senses through sheer fright.

The man didn't stop though. In response to Blaine's order, he picked Blaine's head off the wall and slammed it back hard, causing Blaine's vision to turn white momentarily before stars rained down.

"Please," Blaine whispered, wincing from the blow, as the man's hand began to move to unbuckle Blaine's belt.

"Shut up, _Charlie_," he grunted. "I'm trying to show you a nice time."

"No, I don't…I don't want that," Blaine mumbled, afraid that if he spoke too loudly again, the man might bash his head against the wall again or worse. Then again what could be worse than what happening to him right then?

"I said, NO!"

"Hey! What the hell is going on in here?"

Blaine took advantage of the man's shock of being interrupted to escape. Pushing past his savior, the morose-looking bouncer who'd checked his ID earlier in the evening, he ran straight through the dance floor and out of the entrance at the opposite wall, praying that the man wasn't following him.

"Please, please," he muttered to himself, trying desperately to calm his shaking hands enough to get his car key to fit into the lock. Finally, he accomplished the task and threw himself into the driver's seat, only taking the time to look around behind him once the doors were locked.

The front door to Scandals remained closed and it didn't appear that the man, the bouncer, or anyone else had followed him out. Letting out a sigh of relief, he laid his forehead on the steering wheel, and began crying softly. His head hurt, he felt like he was going to throw up and he knew that he'd just narrowly escaped the worst thing he could possibly envision happening to him. As much as he wanted to leave, he knew it would be a bad idea to drive.

Fumbling with his phone, he scrolled through the contacts, pausing briefly over Kurt's name, before moving on to Jeff's. Jeff picked up on the first ring and agreed to come get Blaine. Blaine was thankful Jeff didn't ask for details and after hanging up, he crawled into the back seat and lied down. After a moment, he migrated to the floor board, ignoring the uncomfortable hump in the middle in favor of the extra security he felt knowing that the man would have to peer in with a flashlight to see him down there if he came looking.

Despite trying to stay up for Jeff, Blaine fell asleep after a few minutes, his head still pounding in time with the music emanating from the building a few dozen yards away.

* * *

The boys were just setting up the Monopoly board, having given up on Catan when Kurt's phone began to buzz on the table.

_Call me ASAP._

The message was from Jeff and Kurt excused himself from the table immediately. It wasn't like Jeff to write such a short, non-informative text. Something was definitely wrong.

"Hey, what is it?" Kurt asked when Jeff answered the phone. He could hear Jeff tell someone that he'd be right back and then he heard the click of a door before Jeff returned his attention to Kurt.

"Before I say anything, no one is dead or seriously hurt, okay?" Jeff whispered into the phone.

"You're scaring me, what's wrong? Is it Blaine?" Kurt could feel his heart beating in his throat as he swallowed nervously.

"Blaine's fine. Well, that's not true. Kurt, Blaine, he um…tonight, he…"

"Jeff, spit it out or let me talk to him!" Kurt ordered impatiently, his voice too loud for standing outside on his father's porch at ten in the evening.

"Okay, calm down," Jeff hissed, as if worried that his voice could be heard by whoever else might be around him. "Blaine went to Scandals tonight."

"The gay bar?" Kurt asked, confused. It didn't sound like something Blaine would do.

"Yeah, the gay bar," he confirmed. "He had too much to drink, and this guy…I guess this guy started to get handsy and he forced Blaine into the bathroom and—"

"Oh my God," Kurt whispered, tears already forming in his eyes. "He wasn't—"

"No, no," Jeff cut him off, knowing where Kurt's mind had gone. "He got away, but not before the guy knocked him around a bit. He called me to pick him up and he's back at the dorm with me now, probably fell asleep as soon as I stepped out. He was asleep in his car when I came to get him."

A million questions rushed through Kurt's mind in that moment. Why had Blaine gone to Scandals? Why had he gone alone? How did he even get in? Why had he called Jeff to come get him when Kurt was so much closer? Kurt wasn't able to formulate any of these questions aloud. It was hard enough to concentrate on not bursting into tears.

"Kurt," Jeff's soft voice came back on the line. "I know you think you're punishing yourself with all this, but you're really hurting Blaine. We're all trying to understand and be sympathetic toward you and give you your space, but come on, man. You have to at least talk to Blaine. He deserves that much."

Kurt nodded in agreement, not comprehending that his trembling movements weren't translating over the phone lines.

"Are you still there?"

"Yeah," Kurt answered. "You're right. I'm sorry. Tell…tell him I'm so sorry and I'll call him tomorrow when he wakes up. He's safe now, right?"

"Yeah, he's safe," Jeff said. "He's not leaving my sight for the rest of the weekend."

He said it because he knew it was what Kurt needed to hear, but he also said it because it was true. For the rest of the weekend, aside from bathroom breaks, Jeff was going to be glued to Blaine's side. He didn't tell Kurt, but Blaine had scared Jeff with his actions and the way he was acting the last few days. He was acting like a guy with nothing to lose and Jeff had seen that before in someone from his past. Someone he could never get back, and he wasn't going to let Blaine go down that same path. Not if he had anything to do with it.

After exchanging goodbyes, Kurt put his phone back in his pocket and wrapped his arms tightly around himself, sinking slowly to the porch floor. With his feet planted on the steps below, he curled his head down to his knees and allowed the tears to flow. It was a combination of fear, panic, relief and frustration that came pouring out from him as he realized how much more complicated life suddenly was. As if it wasn't enough already.

He was going to have to fix things with Blaine. One way or another. Jeff was right, his boyfriend deserved at least that much.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I don't own Glee or United States of Tara.**

* * *

Blaine's head was still pounding by the time he rolled out of bed late the next morning. It was as if his brain was still keeping time with the steady beat of the dance music from the night before. Only it wasn't so easy to block out everything else like it had been then. It took him a few minutes to gain his bearings and even still, he wasn't positive that he was remembering everything correctly, or even at all for that matter. He remembered dancing, grinding and some heavy flirting. He remembered the man, or rather, the outline of the man, who'd danced with him for so long before eventually taking him to the back of the club, where-

"Rise and shine."

Blaine's thoughts were interrupted by a large paper coffee cup blocking his vision. The Lima Bean logo on the front of the cup came in and out of focus several times before Blaine had the good sense to reach out for it.

It was like a gift from the gods. Hot, but not too hot, and bitter enough to clear the clouds a bit from his mind.

"Thanks," Blaine grumbled appreciatively, his throat scratchy and sore. As he sat up to take a proper sip, he saw Jeff standing over him for the first time. His arms were crossed as he looked down on Blaine with a curious mixture of humor and impatience playing on his features.

"Twelve forty-five," Jeff answered Blaine's unspoken question as he squinted around for his phone to check the time. "I was halfway convinced that you weren't actually going to wake up. Although with the night you had...I assume you remember it all?"

"I remember enough," he conceded grimly. "Thanks for coming to get me."

"No problem," Jeff replied. "Hey, listen, why didn't you call Kurt last night? He was only ten miles away, he could have been there in a heartbeat."

"Can we...can we not do this right now?" Blaine pleaded, looking up at his friend with tired eyes. Jeff couldn't help but notice how dark the shadows were under his eyes, which were only underscored by the deep lines created by the folds in Blaine's pillow case as he slept hard throughout the morning. With a heavy sigh, Jeff finally nodded silently in consent before turning away to head back out. Before he made it to the door, he turned back around and spoke.

"I'm going to go meet Nick at the library, so if you want to talk about any of it, you know where to find me. And just so you know, I talked to Kurt last night after you fell asleep. I'm sorry about whatever you two are going through right now, but he deserved to know. He's going to call you in a bit and you two really need to talk about this okay? Clear the air, make up, break up, do whatever, but neither of you can keep doing what you're doing. To yourselves or each other."

Blaine couldn't find the words to respond as Jeff backed out of the door and closed it with a soft click. He was beyond angry with Jeff for telling Kurt about any of it. It wasn't his to tell after all, and there was a reason he hadn't called Kurt in the first place. Sure, he wasn't exactly confident in what that reason was, but nonetheless...

Blaine sat in bed, sipping his coffee and stewing until the anger faded and reason started taking its place. Jeff had a point. Several, actually. He and Kurt did need to talk, and for what felt like the tenth time in their relatively short relationship, they were going to have to define their relationship all over again. And if Jeff was right about Kurt calling soon, Blaine had better get ready. Setting down his coffee on his bedside table, he gathered his things and headed out to the bathroom at the end of the hall. His relationship with Kurt may be over by the end of the day, and if it was, he wanted to at least smell better than death, even if he felt worse.

* * *

"So, you and Sebastian-"

"No. Not me and Sebastian, Sebastian and-"

"Daniel. Dude, that's so-"

"Messed up, I know. But Finn, what was I supposed to do? I mean, I had no idea any of it was even happening. And then I found out, and I thought things couldn't get worse, but now everyone at school is calling me a sl-...just calling me names and apparently Jamie, Conrad and Gina are all making appearances too."

"Dude," Finn sat back, wide-eyed. "Why didn't any of you tell me any of this was going on? I could've-"

"You could have what, Finn?" Kurt interrupted, his red-rimmed eyes boring into his stepbrother. "You were lying in a hospital bed in East Bumble, Georgia recovering from a gunshot wound."

"Ricochet wound," Finn corrected, embarrassed.

"Ricochet wound, whatever," Kurt waved his hand dismissively. "The point is, none of this should be happening in the first place. I was doing so well, and now I'm not even sure why I'm transitioning. I mean, what else could there be in my past, huh? Because as far as I know, there's nothing in my present that would be causing this to happen. Things were going great actually."

"Do you think, I don't know, do you think it's the stress of senior year? I mean, maybe you, maybe your brain just isn't ready to handle it."

Kurt wanted to argue. He felt indignant at the mere suggestion, but who knew? Finn could be right. It wasn't like Kurt had another, more plausible explanation.

"So what now?" Finn asked quietly after a few minutes.

"Now I need to figure out how to fix things with Blaine," Kurt answered. "And then I need to figure out the rest of my life."

Finn nodded. Kurt hadn't told him much about the night before, just that Blaine had done something stupid and was lucky to be alive. Finn hoped Kurt was just exaggerating like he had a tendency to do, but the look on Kurt's face when he came back in from outside the night before led him to believe otherwise.

"Well you know I'm here for you, dude, whatever you need. That's what family's for."

"Thanks, Finn," Kurt said, appreciatively. "And don't call me dude."

* * *

Blaine was still waiting for Kurt's call two hours after he got out of his long, hot shower. He was starting to think that he wasn't going to hear from him at all when he heard a soft, tentative knock on his door. Reluctantly, Blaine got up from his desk and approached the door, praying that he was just hearing things. The last thing he needed was a hallmate coming for help with a homework assignment or one of his fellow Warblers pushing his way in for more gossip fodder under the guise of care and concern for Blaine.

When he opened the door however, he was taken aback to see Kurt standing on the other side of the threshold. Even after dating for more than a year, Blaine still found that his breath was taken away when he saw Kurt unexpectedly. Kurt's eyes looked as tired and worn-out as Blaine felt, but the rest of him was like a walking dream. He'd taken the time to do his hair and he was dressed impeccably. Blaine couldn't help but look away when Kurt tried to offer him a half-smile.

"Can I come in?" Kurt asked in a small voice. He wasn't used to having to ask for permission and Blaine wasn't used to having to give it. But he stepped aside immediately and opened the door wider. Kurt took his time making his way into the room, as if dreading the next step in this awkward process. Kurt sat down on the edge of Blaine's bed and gave him a look that begged him to do the same. Blaine obliged.

"I just want to start by saying," Kurt finally spoke again. "That I am really, really happy that you're safe. That you weren't hurt last night. It would have killed me, if anything bad had happened to you."

Blaine simply nodded, not trusting his ability to speak just yet.

"And I am so, so, sorry that after that horrible experience, you didn't feel like you could call me. Because I've made you feel that way after everything that's happened lately. Do you know how horrible that makes me feel?"

"Kurt, listen-"

"No, let me finish, please. I...I was operating under the assumption that I don't deserve to have someone as wonderful and understanding and loving as you after this whole mess with Sebastian. And honestly, I still feel that way for the most part. But, I guess I didn't stop to think about how that might affect you."

"You guess?"

"No," Kurt amended. "No, I didn't stop to think about it. I should have, but I didn't and...I don't know Blaine, I don't want to make excuses, but I've got a lot going on right now...and judging by the look on your face, that probably sounds a lot like an excuse, doesn't it?"

Blaine looked away to gather his wits before turning back to Kurt and answering. "The thing is Kurt, I forgave you for what happened with Sebastian the minute I found out about it. I knew you would never cheat on me and I knew there had to be another explanation. I could have helped you through this, I want to help you through this."

"That's the point though, Blaine, you were so ready to forgive me, to accept my explanation. You were so easy on me when it must have been absolutely hell for you."

"So let me get this straight," Blaine cleared his throat, trying to keep his emotions at bay. "You're angry at me for loving you too much?"

"No, that's not it. I don't know how to explain it, I just...I just don't deserve you, Blaine, and it's hard to sit here and...accept your love when I know I don't deserve it."

"I'm pretty sure that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. And to be completely honest with you, I can't keep sitting here trying to convince you that I love you and want to be with you through all of this. I am tired, Kurt. I'm so tired, and I want to be with you more than anything else I've ever wanted, but you can't keep me lingering here. It's killing me. So just...I need to know right now. Are we still us?"

Kurt blinked rapidly, trying to keep his tears at bay as he really heard Blaine for the first time since all of this started. He was so scared in that moment. Even though he had been avoiding Blaine and pushing him away, he hadn't stopped to think about what it might be like to really have him gone.

"Please answer me," Blaine whispered desperately, mistaking Kurt's silence for apathy.

"We're still us," Kurt confirmed. "I love you and it terrifies me to think about losing you."

"Okay," Blaine nodded, feeling his heart beating wildly in his chest. "Okay, then."

Kurt wasted no time diving forward to wrap Blaine in a tight hug. He'd forgotten how much he missed the way the other boy felt in his arms over the past week.

"I love you too," Blaine said softly in Kurt's ear, allowing himself to melt into Kurt's arms. As corny as it felt rolling around in Blaine's mind, things just felt right again. He knew they were still broken, that this one embrace wasn't going to fix all of their problems, but it was a starting point. Kurt wouldn't push him away again, now that he knew. And if he did...well, Blaine wasn't going to entertain that thought. In that moment, there wasn't a single scenario Blaine could imagine that would have Kurt doing this to him again. And that was all Blaine needed.

* * *

Sebastian had watched Kurt as he made his way across the courtyard from the parking lot and into his dorm building. He knew where he was headed. He didn't have his overnight bags with him, which meant that he wasn't planning on staying. He was there to meet with Blaine, probably fuck, and then go back home. It angered Sebastian, for some inexplicable reason. It was partly jealousy, but it was also more than that. Sebastian couldn't quite put his finger on it. Or maybe he didn't want to admit that what he was feeling felt a lot like possessiveness. Kurt shouldn't be with Blaine, not after everything that had happened.

For some strange reason, Sebastian couldn't fight the feeling that Kurt should be with him instead.

When Kurt didn't emerge after a few minutes, Sebastian angrily pulled his curtains closed and lied down on his bed. It wasn't long before all the angry, frustrating thoughts about Kurt Hummel and what he was doing to Sebastian without his consent swirled into images that Sebastian couldn't help but respond to by removing his pants and briefs.

He thought about his nights with Daniel, the fire that he'd felt when the mysterious yet familiar hands touched him in all of the right places, and within minutes, Sebastian was coming hard into his hand. He hated himself when he was finished. He hated the weakness he felt over Kurt, of all people. But deep down, he was also terrified of it, of the thoughts going through his head constantly over the past few weeks.

It wouldn't be long before touching himself to the memory of Daniel wouldn't be enough, and Sebastian had no idea what would come next.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Okay, I'm pretty excited about this chapter, so I look forward to hearing what y'all think. Just FYI there's a conversation from the alters in this chapter (a la United States of Kurt) and it's in italics to distinguish it from the rest of the story. Hope you enjoy!

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara**

* * *

It had been a long time, too long, since Conrad had felt the weak resistance of an accelerator pedal pushed beyond its comfort zone below his boot. He smiled as he watched the speedometer needle jump jerkily, the gears trying to keep up with this unanticipated action.

He was only about fifteen minutes from his destination, but it felt like he couldn't get there soon enough. It had been so long since he'd been there that he hardly thought he would remember the route. But like so many things, riding a bike, jumping rope, nailing the head cheerleader behind the bleachers on a chilly Friday night, it came back to him quickly.

Rolling down the window as he came to a four- way stop in the less populated region of the town, he spit a glob of tobacco juice expertly into the opposite lane. He knew how much Kurt hated the habit, but he wasn't inclined to stop, especially when he so rarely was able to emerge these days. Kurt would get over it. In fact, it would be the least of his worries these days.

Conrad had the good sense to turn the radio down from deafening to simply roaring as he rolled into the small, charming neighborhood. Who said he wasn't capable of making mature decisions?

He found the house with relative ease—two rights, then a left, straight until you hit the cul-de-sac. The problem was, now that he was there, he had no idea what to do next. He wasn't even sure what led him to the house in the first place. It had been years since he even thought about this place. Parking the car on the opposite side of the street across from the house, he turned the engine off and just watched it. Every light was on, despite it being close to midnight. The curtains were drawn, but Conrad could make out the shadows of people milling inside. It was a hub of activity in an otherwise quiet, sleeping neighborhood.

Conrad rolled down the window once more to spit out the wad of tobacco before taking a swig of Coke to wash away the grit. He still wasn't sure why he'd come, but with his eyelids drooping, he pulled his ball cap over his face and reclined the chair, falling asleep with relative ease.

* * *

"_I am not the boy next door,_

_I don't belong like I did before._

_Nothing ever seems, like it—"_

"Hello?" Kurt answered his phone groggily.

"Where the hell have you been?"

"Dad?"

"I've been looking for you all night. Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Kurt squinted his eyes open, taking in his surroundings for the first time. He was startled to see he was in his car, the keys still in the ignition, and from the looks of it, he was in some strange neighborhood. In other words, Kurt had no idea where he was, what time it was or why he was there in the first place.

Thinking as quickly as he could considering the circumstances, he pulled the phone away from his ear and inwardly groaned when he saw that it was eight o'clock in the morning.

"I'm um, I lost track of time last night," Kurt stuttered, willing his brain to think of a believable excuse. "I spent the night with Blaine."

"Is that so?" his dad replied with a bit of surprise. "Well I think Blaine, who just so happens to be standing beside me would tell me a different story."

Kurt winced.

"Oops, you caught me," Kurt chuckled humorlessly. "I'm…well, what happened is…"

"No more excuses," Burt cut him off, his anger redoubled. "Just get your butt home now. We'll talk about it when you get here. Drive safe."

Kurt heard the call drop before he had a chance to respond. His dad was really upset. Inclining his seat back to driving position, he took another look at the surroundings around him. He was in a cul-de-sac of a modest, but well-kept neighborhood. There were five houses in the circle, all of them unremarkable except for the one directly across from him. Kurt couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something familiar about that house. The cars in the driveway didn't help, nothing about them stuck a chord with him.

He didn't waste any more time dwelling on it though. His dad would kill him if he wasn't home soon, and Kurt could be two states away for all he knew. He opened up the maps application on his phone and typed in his father's address, breathing a small sigh of relief when he realized he was still in Westerville.

"Thank goodness for small miracles," he muttered, cranking the engine and waiting for the car to come to life. He'd be home in a little under two hours and he just hoped it would be enough time to figure out how in the world he was going to explain this to his dad when he had absolutely no clue what happened.

Giving the house one more glance, he drove away, an uneasy feeling settling into the pit of his stomach.

* * *

"So nothing out of the ordinary happened?"

"No, I mean, we just talked and…and that's it. Then he left."

Blaine tugged nervously at the hem of his tee shirt. He wasn't about to tell Burt Hummel that after they talked through everything and made up, Blaine had shared the most mind-blowing sexual encounter of his life with the man's son. And since he couldn't tell him that, he couldn't very well explain that Kurt had stepped out of their shared shower early and was gone by the time Blaine came back to the room. He'd just assumed that Kurt realized he was late for his curfew and had headed home, forgetting to say goodbye in his haste. It wasn't until four hours later, a little after midnight, that he'd received the call from Burt saying that Kurt hadn't made it home. After a quick peek in Sebastian's window just to be sure, he'd headed straight to Lima, where he, Burt, Finn and Carole had been trying to track Kurt down ever since.

When Burt had finally been successful in getting Kurt to answer the phone, they'd all let out a collective sigh of relief. But the fact that Kurt used a bogus alibi caused Blaine more than a little concern.

"Do you think he transitioned again?" Finn asked to no one in particular. "I don't know, maybe Gina or Conrad, and he just doesn't want to admit it."

"I would hope that we're past that stage of Kurt trying to cover it up," Burt grunted. "But it's the most reasonable explanation."

"But why?" Finn continued. "I mean, unless it was Daniel and he was out with Seb—"

"He wasn't," Blaine cut him off, his cheeks flaring red. "I checked there. It was the first place I looked."

Noticing the tension between Blaine and Finn, it was painfully obvious to Carole and Burt that Finn had said something that Blaine wished he hadn't.

"Is there something about Daniel that I need to know?" Burt asked, turning his full attention to Blaine.

"No, it's…" Blaine fumbled for the right words under the intense glare of his boyfriend's father. He knew Burt wasn't intending to be scary, but Blaine was intimidated nonetheless.

"Daniel just runs with a different group of friends, is all," Blaine finally settled on as an explanation. For the moment, Burt seemed to buy it, turning his attention back to pacing the room.

Just then, everyone's attention was drawn to the window as they watched Kurt's car pull into the driveway. No one said a word as they waiting for him to slowly exit the car and make his way to the house. It was assumed that Burt would take the lead and sure enough, he wasted no time attacking Kurt with questions as soon as he was over the threshold.

"Where were you?" Burt demanded. "And I want the truth this time."

Kurt sighed, putting his car keys down on the coffee table before plopping down on the couch, ignoring the fact that everyone else was standing or pacing around the room. In the end he'd decided on telling the truth, despite how worried he was that it might backfire.

"Oak Grove," he answered. "It's a neighborhood in Westerville. I have no idea why I was there, but I must have spent the night there in my car. The last thing I remember is talking with Blaine in his dorm room."

Blaine's mind starting going a mile per minute. Was that really the last thing Kurt remembered? Or was he just saying that to avoid another safe sex talk with his dad? If it really was the last thing he remembered, had Blaine…had he slept with Daniel? It had been incredible, Kurt had done things Blaine had never dreamt of doing. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Blaine had thought it a bit odd at the time, but not so strange that he wanted to stop and have a discussion about it. Blaine tried to shake the thoughts out of his head so he could concentrate on the situation at hand. All that other stuff could wait.

"What the hell were you doing there, Kurt?" Burt asked at the same time Carole mused, "That name sounds familiar."

"I don't know," Kurt admitted, his words laced heavily with defeat. "I just woke up there, but if I had to guess from the rancid taste in my mouth and the half-consumed bottle of Coke, it was Conrad who took me there."

"Well I want to talk to Conrad then," Burt announced, sound more flustered and angry by the second.

"It doesn't work that way, Dad," Kurt explained slowly, trying not to add to his father's misguided wrath. "You know that."

"I don't care!" Burt shouted. "Conrad, you little son of a bitch, you come out right now and speak to me!"

"Dad, please, your heart—"

"Burt, honey, what are you—"

"Whoa, Burt, calm down."

Blaine watched helplessly as the family tried to reign in their patriarch. This was spiraling even further out of control, if such a thing were even possible, and over the cacophonous din of a family falling apart in the face of fear and uncertainty, Blaine's mind helplessly turned its attention to his own private elephant in the room.

Had he actually slept with Daniel?

* * *

_Gina: Good Heavens, Conrad! What on God's green earth were you thinking?_

_Conrad: Shut up, Gina, I already told you—_

_Jamie: You shouldn't say shut up, Conrad, it isn't very nice._

_Gina: Thank you, Jamie._

_Conrad: Stay out of this twerp! I already told you I don't know why I did it, but I can damn well guarantee that it has something to do with this joker over here._

_Daniel: Keep me out of your little hen fight, Connie. I don't want anything to do with any of you._

_Conrad: What did you call me? I oughta kill you right here and now._

_Daniel: Please, like you could even touch me._

_Conrad: Oh yeah? I eat little fairy boys like you for breakfast._

_Daniel: Ha, I bet you do._

_Gina: Stop it right now! The both of you! This is a fine mess the two of you have made for Kurt and I expect you to be the ones to clean it up._

_Daniel: You got it all wrong lady, I'm helping Kurt. He needs me. I'm his liberation._

_Conrad: Like hell you are. I'm the one that brought him back._

_Daniel: What is that supposed to mean?_

_Gina: Yes, Conrad, what do you mean you brought him back?_

_Conrad: I…I don't know. Just leave me alone, both of you. I need some time to think._

* * *

Kurt leaned back on the couch exhausted. The interrogation was finally over and his family and Blaine had gone to take naps, Finn and their parents in their respective rooms and Blaine in Kurt's. After all, Kurt had slept all night but everyone else had been awake for more than twenty four hours. Kurt was contemplating curling up on the couch for a nap himself when he absent-mindedly reached for the remote.

The television clicked on to his parent's standby, the local NBC news station. He barely registered the two minute segments on everything from surging gas prices to a miracle diet pill when the ongoing story of Mikey Rawling's disappearance came on. Kurt sat up straighter, listening to the anchorwoman go over the details that any person in western Ohio who wasn't living under a rock already knew. As the camera switched over to a new shot, Kurt's heart stopped in his chest for a moment, before it resumed beating wildly.

The reporter was standing outside of a house. It was the same house he'd seen reporters standing outside of in news reports for the past few weeks. And all of the sudden, Kurt understood why his surroundings had seemed so familiar that morning.

"Dad?" Kurt whispered before realizing he was going to have to raise his voice if anyone was going to hear him.

"Dad!"


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Wow, everyone! I loved hearing your responses to the last chapter! Things are starting to get intense. Thanks so much for your support and for reading. I hope to get another chapter in before Thanksgiving, but if not, I hope everyone has a good one (even if you don't live in the US, I hope you have a good Thursday :)) I am thankful for all of you. Hope you enjoy.

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara**

* * *

"Dad!"

Burt's eyes flew open and he was running down the stairs before he was really even awake and aware of his surroundings. It was a parental instinct thing. When Kurt had a nightmare as a child, or that one time a burglar broke into the house when Kurt was young, before his mother had passed, Burt was in action before he knew what was happening in the first place. It wasn't something he'd always had, he hadn't always been so alert to dangers or possible threats, but parenthood did something to a man. And even though his only child was technically an adult, when Kurt called out his name in that voice reserved for only the scariest of situations, Burt's body responded.

"What? What is it, Kurt, are you okay?"

When Burt reached the bottom of the stairs, he was relieved to see his son safe from harm, sitting on the couch where he'd left him not that long ago to go catch a nap. But something wasn't right, Burt could see it on his son's face as he watched the television in front of him.

"Kurt?" Burt tried again, still eliciting no response from him. Impatient, he stepped in front of Kurt, blocking him from the television. "Kurt, damn it son, what's the problem?"

Blocking his view seemed to work because Kurt finally made eye contact with him, and out of the corner of Burt's eye, he could see his wife, Finn and Blaine joining them in the living room, all looking groggy and wary at the same time.

"That's it," he said simply, pointing a shaky finger at the television. Only, because Burt was still standing in front of him, Burt looked down at his navel in confusion.

"No," Kurt continued, leaning around Burt to get his eyes back on the television. "That house, that's…that's where I woke up this morning."

"I thought you said you woke up in your car," Finn asked, his voice grainy with sleep and his hair in seven different directions.

"I did, but my car was parked outside of that house."

"But that's, that's the house that the little boy disappeared from, isn't it?" Carole asked as she came around the side of the couch to pull Burt away so they could all get a better view. Burt had turned around to see what Kurt was pointing at and was planted to the site, watching the story on the news unfold.

"Mikey Rawlings," Burt murmured. "That's his name."

Just then, the newscaster cut to a breaking story about a traffic accident outside of the city limits, and Kurt took the opportunity to turn off the television. He wasn't sure what was going on, but taking away the noise emanating from the set seemed to help.

"I don't understand," Blaine chipped in, adding his confusion to the cloud already gathering in the room. "Why would your alters take you there?"

"I don't know," Kurt answered honestly. "Like I said, I think it was Conrad who took me there, but…Dad, is there anything significant about Westerville from when I was a kid? Did I have any friends out there?"

Burt sank down on the couch next to Kurt. "Honestly kid, I didn't even know Westerville existed when you were little. We'd just moved here from Lincoln—"

"Lincoln?" Finn asked, furrowing his brow.

"Nebraska," Kurt answered quietly. "It's where I was born. I don't really remember it and we moved to Lima when I was three and my grandma, my mom's mom, was sick. We moved here so Mom could take care of her."

"How did I not know that?" Finn mused aloud, while Blaine had the same thought in his own head. There was so much about his boyfriend that he didn't know, and every time he thought he had it all figured out, a little thing like this would pop up and throw him into uncertainty. And of course, there was still that small matter of figuring out if it was even Kurt he'd slept with the night before. Blaine shook his head, trying for the second time that morning to clear his mind of everything else except for the problem at hand.

"So no, kid, I honestly have no idea," Burt continued. "As far as I know, you have no ties to Westerville or that house."

"What about the people in it?" Finn asked.

"What? You mean Mikey Rawlings?" Carole asked her son, failing to see where he was headed with the question. "What could Kurt possibly have to do with him or his family?"

"Yeah," Burt added, standing up. "What exactly are you suggesting?"

The room was enveloped in a tense silence as everyone waited for an answer from Finn, who was slowly, subconsciously, backing away from the group.

"I-I don't know," Finn stammered. "I mean, there's this new alter and I just thought—"

"You thought what, Finn?" Burt asked through gritted teeth. Finn's eyes grew wide as he searched around his brain for the right thing to say.

"Dad, Carole, lay off of Finn," Kurt interjected, standing up and getting between his father and brother. "He's just trying to help."

"Kurt, do you realize what he's suggesting?"

"Yes, I do!" Kurt answered with just as much force as his father. "But right now, we've got nothing, and as much as I'd like to be angry at the suggestion that I—Daniel, had anything to do with Mikey's disappearance…we can't rule it out."

"This is nuts, okay?" Burt spoke with a humorless laugh, shaking his head. "This is absolutely insane."

"Let's hope so," Kurt answered grimly. "Guys, I have to get out for a bit, take a walk and clear my head. Maybe…maybe I can sort some more out if I just get focused again."

The others nodded. They knew he was referring to the meditation techniques he'd learned the year before after the onslaught of new alters that cropped up with the Mark situation. It seemed to work then, and they could all only hope that it would now.

"I'll come with you," Blaine offered. Kurt almost turned him down but thought better of it. He remembered his promise to stop pushing Blaine away, and if Kurt was being honest with himself, he didn't want to be alone right then. Sure, he needed to get out of that house, but the idea of being left alone with Daniel inside of him, not know what he was capable of doing, was frightening.

Kurt nodded his assent and Blaine quickly put on his shoes and followed Kurt to the door. Kurt was surprised when his dad didn't give his usual, 'be back in an hour' instruction. As he turned to nod goodbye to his parents and brother, he saw the dazed looks on all of their faces and realized that they were in just as much shock as he was himself.

* * *

They were ten minutes into their walk before either of them said anything aloud. It was Blaine who finally broke the silence, unable to keep himself from asking Kurt the question that had been plaguing himself since earlier that morning.

"Kurt, um, what do you really remember from last night?"

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked, a somewhat defensive edge in his voice.

"I mean, what do you…what do you remember us doing?"

"Oh," Kurt answered, relieved that Blaine wasn't suggesting that he'd intentionally gone to the Rawlings house. It hadn't made any sense in his head that Blaine would be hinting at that, but with the kind of day it had been, he had to assume that anything was possible.

"Well," Kurt continued. "I came over, we talked, we made up, we made out, and…and we made love."

"We did?" Blaine asked, sounding more relieved than Kurt had ever heard someone sound before. Kurt wasn't sure why it felt like his face was on fire, but for some reason, this conversation was embarrassing him more than it typically would.

"Yeah, don't you remember?"

"Of course I do," Blaine answered quickly. "It's just…when you told your dad this morning that we just talked and then you left—"

"Okay, if you want me to start telling my father about our love life—"

"No, it's not that," Blaine said. This time it was his turn to blush. "But when we found out you transitioned after you left last night, I thought that maybe…I don't know, we did some crazy stuff in bed last night…"

"You thought you slept with Daniel," Kurt answered tightly. "Jesus, is this guy's whole goal in life to ruin mine?"

"Kurt, I'm sorry, I—"

"No, it's fine," Kurt interrupted, willing himself to calm down. "If I was in your shoes, I would have wondered the same thing, I suppose."

Blaine breathed a heavy sigh. He felt like he'd just successfully diffused a bomb. The two walked in silence for a few minutes before Kurt spoke up again.

"I don't think you have to worry about Daniel taking over and sleeping with you."

"Why is that?" Blaine asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"I don't get the sense that he likes you very much," Kurt answered, trying to suppress a grin.

"I don't get that impression either," Blaine admitted.

"And to be honest, I don't get the sense that Daniel had anything to do with Mikey's disappearance."

"How can you know?" Blaine asked earnestly. He hoped with everything he had within him that Kurt was right, but right now, Kurt was right, anything could be possible.

"I just…I just don't get that vibe," Kurt answered. "Even when alter Mark was in me, I could sense something not right, something slightly…deviant, I guess, but the only thing I get from Daniel is that he's a major douchebag."

"You're not wrong about that," Blaine muttered.

"Seriously though," Kurt continued. "Don't you think Gina or Conrad or even Jamie would warn someone that there was something wrong with Daniel like they did with Mark? And it wasn't even Daniel who took me to the house, it was Conrad."

"So basically, we're back to square one," Blaine surmised, stopping in his tracks to face Kurt.

"Yeah, I guess so," Kurt answered quietly. "But I think I know what my next step is."

"What?"

Kurt squared his shoulders and looked over Blaine's head, watching the sky above him.

"I'm going back to Mikey's house. And I'm going to figure out what the hell it all has to do with me."

* * *

"Absolutely not, Kurt. You're a smart kid, but this is absolutely the dumbest thing you've ever come up with."

"Honey, what your father is trying to say is—"

"Don't tell him what I'm trying to say, I'm doing fine by myself. Kurt, I forbid you to go there."

"You can't forbid me to go anywhere, I'm an adult!"

"Not under my roof, you're not!"

"Everyone calm down!"

Blaine's face grew red as everyone's attention turned to him. He hadn't meant to yell that loudly.

"We talked about it," Blaine added, quieter now. "And I think it's a good idea."

"You hear that, Carole?" Burt asked, anger still lacing his words. "Another eighteen year old thinks this is a good idea."

"Dad!" Kurt hissed, embarrassed by how his father was acting.

"Let's just hear them out," Finn spoke up. He was still on the fence about the whole idea, but he was leaning a little to Kurt and Blaine's side. Kurt was thankful for whatever support he could get, however small and distrusting.

"I don't think that Daniel had anything to do with Mikey's disappearance," Kurt explained, rehashing his conversation with Blaine a half hour earlier. "But Conrad brought me to that house for a reason. Maybe if I talk to Mikey's family…I don't know, maybe I could figure it out."

"And what makes you think that a grieving family with a missing child is going to open up their home to you for a chat?"

"I don't know, Dad," Kurt answered, refusing to break eye contact with him. "But it's worth a shot. Blaine's going with me."

"What if Daniel did have something to do with this, huh?" Burt continued. "What if a neighbor recognizes you as the guy who snatched the boy?"

"Then hopefully they'll arrest me," Kurt answered, surprising everyone in the room, including Blaine. That hadn't been one of the scenarios they'd discussed on the walk back home.

"_Hopefully they'll arrest you_? Are you out of your mind?" Burt couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Yes, father, if Daniel had anything to do with this, which I'm almost positive he didn't, but if he did, then I need to be locked up. If I can kidnap and do God knows what with a child, then I need to be locked up. For everyone's sake."

"But it's not you, Kurt," Finn said gently, unable to picture his brother doing anything worse than spying on a rival glee club.

"It's inside of me," Kurt answered, his voice wavering. "_He's_ inside of me. And if he did this, he needs to be stopped. Either way, I'm going to get to the bottom of this. Come on, Blaine, let's go."

Burt was too dumbfounded to form words as he watched his son and Blaine walk quietly back out of the house. He heard the quiet roar of Blaine's engine coming to life and they were long gone before anyone left in the room could even move again.

"I'll make a pot of coffee," Carole said quietly, knowing that no one would be going back to sleep for a while.

Not until they knew if their son would be coming home that night.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone for all of the wonderful feedback! One warning for this chapter, there's a bit of smut in the very beginning. It's in italics, so if you want to skip it, just go to the first line break. I'm pretty nervous about this chapter, so I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I don't own Glee or United States of Tara

* * *

_The boy's fingers brushed slowly, languorously over Sebastian's naked abdomen, as if he had all the time in the world to study his physique. As if nothing about this entire scenario was off. It felt like it had been days, months even, since Sebastian had felt this way with him and even still, he didn't stop to think about how the two of them even got there, naked on the roof of Sebastian's dorm building, under the uncharacteristically warm setting sun. He was afraid that if he thought about it too hard, the image would shatter and he'd be left alone in his cold, dark reality._

_So back to the boy's fingers, and the way they traced lazy circles and figure eights across Sebastian's body, like an ice skater doing her first warm-ups in the wee hours of the morning. His fingers dipped and swirled, and didn't bother acknowledging the moments when Sebastian shuddered, eyes closed, as his muscles reacted to an unexpected turn. What Sebastian would give to hear him speak, but he was too afraid to open his mouth himself. His voice may destroy it, this perfection he was experiencing, and while hearing the boy say his name was the one thing he wanted most of all, he knew that he wouldn't get it. Not yet, anyway._

_Finally, the boy's hands began to move with urgency, with a sudden purpose. They snaked down Sebastian's long thighs, weaving in and out until they landed on his ankles. The boy grabbed Sebastian by the feet and scooted him forward. Sebastian helped, bending his knees and lifting his ass slightly, trying to anticipate the mysterious boy's next move. But the boy pushed his stomach back down with his forearm and left it there, while he slowly lowered his mouth onto Sebastian's cock, never once breaking eye contact._

"_Uhhh," Sebastian groaned, his eyes immediately rolling back as his elbows fought to brace him. The waves of pleasure that rushed through him every time the boy dipped and swirled, sucked and bobbed, were nearly enough to send him over the edge early._

"_Whoa," Sebastian warned, trying to back away from his mouth when he got so close to the edge in an embarrassingly short amount of time. "I'm too close."_

_The boy backed off only slightly, just enough to sit up a bit straighter. _

"_I know," the boy answered with a smile before diving back in._

_And then Sebastian knew too. It wasn't Daniel, like he'd hoped it would be. But as Sebastian went flying over the edge a few moments later, the only thing that he could think was that he didn't care that it was Kurt. After all, Kurt was real and Daniel wasn't. On the other hand, Daniel wanted Sebastian and Kurt didn't, so in the end, did it really matter what was real and what wasn't?_

Sebastian squinted as he turned on his bedside lamp to see the mess he'd made in his sleep. The covers were kicked off and he was completely naked, save for the thick, white pool of come covering his hand, which was still grasping his cock.

It had been the third time that week, but this time was much worse, much more serious. This time it was Kurt that visited him in his dream, not Daniel, and Sebastian's hesitation had lasted less than a second. Not to mention that he'd come harder thinking about Kurt than he ever had thinking about Daniel.

If Sebastian was going to be honest with himself, which he rarely was, he'd admit that this whole thing was starting to scare him. He'd been attracted to guys before, and he would be the very first to admit that he'd done some really, really stupid things to try to win them, but this was starting to feel a whole lot like obsession. Thoughts of Kurt Hummel were starting to consume Sebastian and there really wasn't much he could do to fight it. He tried to focus on other things, other guys, but in the end, his mind always drifted back there, and try as he may, he couldn't shake it out of his head.

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Kurt?"

"For the ninth time, yes, I'm sure."

"Alright, well excuse me for asking, but we've been sitting outside the neighborhood for a half hour now."

Kurt turned to look at Blaine. As much as it annoyed him to admit it, his boyfriend was right. What the hell did Kurt think he was doing? What was the plan here? Did he really expect the Rawlings family to just let him in and start asking questions?

"This would be a lot easier if we were Sam and Dean Winchester," Kurt muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"Never mind," Kurt sighed, cranking his engine again. "It's now or never, I'll just…I'll just say I'm with the newspaper or something."

Blaine cast a nervous look at Kurt. "What about just telling them the truth?"

"The truth?" Kurt asked incredulously. "As in, 'Hi, my name is Kurt Hummel, last night I transitioned into my hillbilly alter, Conrad and woke up this morning outside of your house, what does it all mean?' That truth, Blaine? Because I'm not sure even I believe it."

Blaine turned his attention to the window, watching the houses move slowly by. He had no idea what they were doing there. Sure, it had seemed like a good idea at the time, but even after an hour and a half in the car, they were no closer to figuring out a plausible excuse for showing up at the Rawlings' house, nor did they even know what questions to ask to try to figure out why Kurt's alters were drawn to them in the first place.

"Fine," Kurt said, putting the car into park outside of the house. "Let's just sit here for a minute and try to figure this out."

They were sitting in the same place Kurt had been when he woke up that morning. There were a few more cars in the driveway, and as always, the news truck was parked in front of the house as well. The back doors were open and the newscaster appeared to be enjoying a sub sandwich a little too much. Blaine figured it must get boring for the crew to be sitting outside of the house all day, filming a two minute update every few hours.

"Maybe you could just go up there and say you're a concerned citizen and you'd like to join the search effort," Blaine offered, trying to muster as much optimism as he could.

"Somehow I think those cops won't let me near the front door," Kurt answered, peering out of the windshield. There were two officers standing in the front lawn. Kurt guessed that they were probably working security detail, making sure no crazies came to harass the family. Kurt chuckled at this thought.

"Good point," Blaine muttered. They were running out of options, which really wasn't all that hard to do, considering they hadn't really had many options in the first place.

"I don't know, maybe just sitting here for a while, maybe that'll jog something," Kurt said hopefully.

"Maybe," Blaine echoed. "After all, your alters brought you here for a reason, right?"

"It doesn't seem like it could be random," Kurt acknowledged. "I mean, Conrad especially has taken me to some weird places, but usually it's strip clubs, underground gambling rings or convenience stores. You know, places that make sense in Conrad Land. But this-"

"Kurt, someone's coming over here," Blaine interrupted, feeling slightly panicky. It was a young woman, maybe even a teenager, stalking angrily over to the car. Her eyes were puffy from crying and her fists were balled up like she wanted to punch someone. Kurt whipped his head around to the driver's side window where Blaine had pointed and nervously rolled down the window as she approached.

"What are you doing here?" the girl asked angrily, coming face to face with Kurt.

"I-I—"

"You-you what? It's been almost four years, Conrad!"

"Wait, what did you call me?"

"I called you by your name, you dick." She was almost yelling now and the cops in the lawn were starting to pay attention. "What, did you really think that you could just drop off the face of the planet and then randomly show up a few years later? Did you think I'd forget?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, really," Kurt cut in, completely blindsided by the attack. "I really don't have a clue what you're talking about, but I think I can explain—"

"I'd love that, I really would," the girl answered with a heavy trace of sarcasm. "But you'll have to excuse me, I'm a little busy right now, searching for my son, so I'll have to take a rain check."

"Wait, wait!" Kurt shouted as the girl started to walk away. He unbuckled his seatbelt and flew out of the car, leaving a bewildered Blaine in the passenger seat. "You're Mikey Rawlings' mother?"

The girl stopped in her tracks and took her time turning around to face Kurt. When she did, she had the strangest mix of fear, exhaustion and bitter humor in her features.

"Yeah," she said quietly, the anger still evident in her voice. "I am. And guess what Conrad? You're his father. Guess if you'd have stuck around back then, you would have known that."

Kurt couldn't move as he watched the girl stalk silently back to her house. And just when his vision became unfocused and the splotchy blackness began to take over, he could hear Blaine's soft voice in the distance, calling out his name.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Holy moly at y'all's responses! Wow! Thank you for the feedback. I was worried I would lose some readers with that last chapter, and while I appear to have lost a few, the majority of the feedback I received was great. I just wanted to clear up a few questions that were raised:

Mikey Rawlings is three years old, so about four years ago was when Conrad had some sort of relationship with his mother (we will learn her name and more about their relationship, probably in the next chapter). Kurt is nineteen years old now, in keeping with the fact that he's taking his second trip through senior year and Blaine is eighteen, in keeping with the ridiculous notion that Blaine is a year younger than Kurt. So Kurt would have been fifteen whenever Conrad was getting him into trouble.

Also, the ages of the alters: Gina is about 35, Jamie is 5 and Conrad is 17. Even when Kurt was younger, Conrad has always been a cocky, self-absorbed, 17 year old boy. (I have a special phrase for boys like this, but **paperstylehearts** tells me it's inappropriate :) )

One more thing, this chapter (like the last) is a little on the short side, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting too long after all the wonderful support you've shown me. As always, thank you so much for reading.

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara.**

* * *

"_Wait, wait!" Kurt shouted as the girl started to walk away. He unbuckled his seatbelt and flew out of the car, leaving a bewildered Blaine in the passenger seat. "You're Mikey Rawlings' mother?"_

_The girl stopped in her tracks and took her time turning around to face Kurt. When she did, she had the strangest mix of fear, exhaustion and bitter humor in her features._

"_Yeah," she said quietly, the anger still evident in her voice. "I am. And guess what Conrad? You're his father. Guess if you'd have stuck around back then, you would have known that."_

Blaine felt that funny leap in his heart that he'd only experienced a handful of times in his past. Once, when he came out to his parents, again when he told Kurt the real reason he picked him to sing the duet with at Regionals and now, as he realized exactly what the petite blonde girl with a spattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose was telling his boyfriend.

He watched in stunned silences as the girl turned quickly on her heel and stomped away, leaving a baffled Kurt in her wake. His back was to Blaine, but even still, Blaine knew they were in trouble.

"Kurt? Kurt!" he called out through the open driver's side door as he struggled to unlatch his seatbelt. Kurt's head was bowed and he was starting to sway, surefire signs that he was either no longer in control or about to pass out. As Blaine threw open the passenger's side door and raced to Kurt, his mind flew in a million different directions.

Of all the possible outcomes of this bizarre trip, the reality of the situation was nowhere near the list.

OOO

_Conrad: This isn't happening. This isn't real._

_Daniel: Wrong, Casanova. This is happening. You fucked up big time._

_Gina: Oh dear, oh my, oh dear…_

_Jamie: Conrad, you're a daddy?_

_Conrad: Everyone just shut up! I need to think._

_Daniel: Wrong again. You should have been thinking four years ago. Why do you even think you're here? You should have been protecting Kurt, not sleeping around with Fertile Myrtle out there._

_Conrad: You're one to talk, douchebag! This whole mess with Sebastian is your fault!_

_Gina: Boys—_

_Daniel: I had a good reason for doing that. Besides, Sebastian is the least of your worries right now._

_Conrad: Good reason? You wouldn't know a good reason if it took a dump on your shoulder._

_Gina: Boys! That is quite enough from both of you! Oh Conrad, how could you? And bringing him back here, what on Earth were you thinking?_

_Conrad: I already told you, you old hag, I don't know why I brought him here. It just happened. I just started driving and…ended up here._

_Daniel: Right, of course. You're full of shit, Connie. The only one of us who can use that excuse is Kurt and you know it. You've known about this the entire time, you sick son of a bitch._

_Conrad: I swear to God, if you don't back off in the next seconds I'm going to—_

_Jamie: Conrad?_

_Conrad: Not now, brat!_

_Jamie: But Conrad, your little boy is missing, isn't he? Don't you need to find him? What if Mark has him?_

_Gina: Mark is dead, sweetheart, he can't hurt anyone else._

_Daniel: Kid's got a point, Connie. _

_Conrad: This seriously cannot be happening._

_Daniel: And we're back._

OOO

Finn watched as his phone lit up with a text message alert. He'd been a few seconds away from dozing off when the light caught his attention. It had been about five hours since Kurt and Blaine left the house to go back to Westerville, and try as they may, neither him, his mom or Burt were able to get any sleep in their absence. His mother was using her nervous energy to clean the house while Burt flipped listlessly through the television channels. Finn listened to music on his IPod, but found that nothing really sounded good. He was too anxious to even concentrate on listening to his favorite songs.

"Blaine just texted me," he announced after reading the message. "He said they are headed back and will be here in a few minutes."

"Did he say what happened?" Carole asked, bursting into the living room from the kitchen.

"No," Finn answered quietly. "But at least we know that Kurt didn't get arrested."

Both Carole and Finn looked to Burt, waiting for a response, but instead the man just stared silently at the blank television screen. He'd given up on finding something to watch about an hour before and had appeared to be lost in thought since then. It was anything from a comfortable silence, but Finn was too afraid to break it. He couldn't shake the feeling that something big was about to happen and there wasn't a thing he could do to prevent it or ease the landing.

About twenty tense minutes later, the front door slowly cracked open and Blaine walked in, followed by Kurt. From the looks on both of their faces, whatever news they bore was far from good. Blaine looked stunned, like someone who'd just been involved in a bank hold-up and Kurt's eyes were red and his cheeks splotchy with half-dried tear tracks running down. Blaine whispered something in Kurt's ear and Kurt nodded slightly before turning to face Carole and Finn, who stood together behind the couch were Burt sat, still and silent.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to my father alone for a while," Kurt announced to them. Blaine nodded, as if expecting this, and gave Kurt a quick peck on the cheek before walking over to join Carole and Finn, who still hadn't moved.

"Of course, sweetie," Carole said with a forced smile. It was obvious she wanted to stay, but she could tell by the way Kurt looked and sounded that he really needed a moment alone with Burt. Finn opened and closed his mouth several times, as if searching for a protest, but didn't resist when his mom and Blaine led him away from the room and up the stairs. Kurt waited until he heard the door to the guest room close before sitting down across from his father.

"Dad, I—"

"He's yours, isn't he. That Mikey, kid. He's yours."

It wasn't a question, what Burt was saying. He stated it as a fact.

"H-how did…how did you…"

"When you and Blaine left, I started thinking about it," Burt started to explain as Kurt brought a shaky hand to his mouth, trying not to cry again and failing miserably at it. "The first time I saw that kid on the news, I couldn't believe it. He looked exactly like you, Kurt, when you were that age. It bothered me how similar he was to you. I pushed it out of my head, because there was no way you could have anything to do with this Mikey kid, right? But then you woke up there this morning, and you said Conrad is the one who brought you there. So I looked up the kid's birthday, went back nine months from there and looked in the log book I started keeping when your alters began getting out of control. Sure enough, there it was. Back then, Conrad would take over for days at a time and I wouldn't see you. You were only fifteen, Kurt, and I was so worried about you. But just as soon as I would pick up the phone to call the police, you would come trudging back in, or you would call, tired and worn out from whatever hoops Conrad would be jumping you through. I didn't want to believe it, but….it's true, isn't it?"

Kurt's fist was still balled up at his mouth as he nodded silently. The look on his father's face as he confirmed what he'd suspected was enough to send Kurt over the edge. His shoulders shook violently as he drew in a shuddering breath.

"I don't know what to do, Dad," he gasped between sobs. "I'm so scared, I don't know what to do."

Burt stood up for the first time in hours and ignored his creaking joints as he rounded the coffee table to pick his son up in a hug.

"You know what, kid? Neither do I. But we'll figure it out, okay?"

Kurt just shook his head 'no' against his father's shoulder and continued to cry. How in the world were they going to figure this out? Where would they even start? Not only did he just find out that he had a son, but that son had been missing for almost a month and Kurt didn't even know his mother's name.

When Kurt had calmed down a bit, he and his father sat down again and Kurt went over the events of the afternoon. Burt cringed slightly at the retelling of Kurt's interaction with Mikey's mother and smiled just a bit when Kurt told him he'd been able to keep from transitioning, even though it was one of the hardest things he'd ever done.

"So what do I do now?" Kurt asked. Burt had rarely seen his son look so young and scared, with the exception of visits from Jamie.

"I think the first thing you need to do is to try to talk to Mikey's mother again, explain what happened. I can come with you when you do. I have a feeling that she may not believe you without some reinforcement."

"Thank you," Kurt said, brimming with gratefulness. He was nervous about going anywhere near that house again, but he knew it needed to be done.

"And I think we need to tell Carole what's going on," Burt added. "Finn too. I imagine Blaine already knows?"

Kurt nodded. "He overheard the whole thing."

"Well, considering he came back to the house with you, I'm guessing he's doing alright with everything?"

"He's in shock," Kurt admitted. "But he's not going to leave me. Not after everything else, anyway. This is just another Sunday afternoon in the life of Kurt Hummel's boyfriend."

Burt chuckled softly, despite the situation being anything but humorous. It was all he could do to keep it together for his son. And if it was the very last thing he would do, it would be that.

With that, Kurt padded up to the guest room to where the boys and Carole were waiting and brought them back downstairs. Between Kurt, Burt and Blaine, the story was told, the details filled in and the bomb dropped. Kurt knew that once Finn and his mother got through the initial shock, they would be supportive, but in the meantime, he couldn't help feeling lower than dirt as he watched the horrified looks settle in their features.

If the whole mess with Sebastian and Daniel hadn't made him feel completely worthless, this new revelation was threatening to send him toppling over the edge. But at the end of the day, Kurt Hummel knew three things.

He was a father, his son was missing, and even if it killed him, he was going to find his son.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** Sorry for the short chapters here lately. I wanted to post something because I'm not sure when I might get the chance to do so again. Thanks for reading and I always love to hear your thoughts.

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara**

* * *

Chapter 16

Mikey Rawlings wasn't scared anymore. He was a lot of other things, lonely, confused, angry, but not scared. It was obvious to him, even at three going on four, that the family he was with now didn't want to hurt him. Quite the opposite in fact. Unlike the scary couple who'd taken him from his grandmother's lawn, this family seemed to want him to feel safe.

It had been about a month since Mikey was kidnapped, not that he had any way of knowing or remembering that. All he knew was that it felt like a very long time since he saw his mother and grandmother last and he was ready to go home.

The first few weeks had been awful. There were a lot of days when he was stuck in a dark, dank motel room, only seeing light during his potty breaks. He didn't know why his captors kept him in the dark. The days when he wasn't in some motel room, they were travelling, and Mikey was blindfolded during the trips. The farthest Mikey had ever travelled in a car was to Columbus the Christmas before, and while he didn't remember all the little details of that trip, he knew that they were going a lot farther away than Columbus.

After what seemed like a lifetime away from home, Mikey was finally dumped at the front door of his new mommy and daddy in the middle of the night. They welcomed him in and coaxed him out of the doorway with a steaming cup of hot cocoa with the pink and green marshmallows that his grandma never bought because she said they were too expensive. Mikey was quick to accept the drink. He knew he wasn't supposed to accept things from strangers, but he'd been surviving off of water from various bathroom sinks and the occasional honey bun that was tossed his way by his kidnappers. The cocoa reminded him of home and he began to cry.

"Come now," the new mommy said soothingly, kneeling down and rubbing his back. "No more tears, Jordan."

"M-my name's Mikey," he blubbered, sucking in a shuddering breath against his sobs. "I miss my mama and I want to go home."

"Your name is Jordan, sweetheart. And you _are_ home."

* * *

Kellie Rawlings hadn't been expecting the boy she knew as Conrad to come back around a second time. In fact, she never imagined she'd see him again. When she'd caught him lingering outside her house the day before, she almost didn't believe it was him. A small part of her fought the anger welling inside of her at the sight of him. A small part that wanted desperately to believe that he was there to right his wrongs, to do the right thing, even if it was entirely too late.

But no. Her first, angry instinct had been correct. He played dumb, acting like he had no idea who she was, or that they'd dated for three months before he disappeared into thin air. By the time he left, she was already two months pregnant, but she hadn't known. Or she had and didn't want to face it. Either way, he didn't know, but when she came to terms with it herself, she tried desperately to get back in touch with him. He'd always called her from pay phones and would disappear for a week or two at a time. She never really questioned it until she really needed to get in touch with him.

She tried Facebook and MySpace. She tried contacting friends she had in the Lima school district, but none of them knew a Conrad. Shit, she didn't even have a last name to go on. Suddenly, her mother's constant mantra of "what the hell were you thinking?" started to make sense. What _had_ she been thinking? She regretted ever getting involved with the guy and hated herself for not being more careful.

But when Mikey was born, that was all pushed to the side. He was perfect in every way, and she could have killed herself for ever wishing he didn't exist while she was pregnant with him. She couldn't believe that a screw-up like herself and mysterious drifter with a southern accent and no apparent life goals could have produce something so pure and wonderful.

Of course, the reality of motherhood set in not long after that. It was hard raising a kid. It was even harder when you still were a kid. At fifteen, Kellie had very little idea of how to take care of herself, let alone a baby. Thank goodness for her mother's reluctant, yet dependable support. She'd urged Kellie to look into adoption and almost had her convinced at one point, but as soon as she saw her grandson, her heard melted and she knew he wasn't going anywhere.

Kellie got used to the idea that her life was forever changed with little outward resistance. She didn't party anymore, she went to school and made good grades. She loathed the teen mothers on 16 and Pregnant and despised the way that some of them seemed to care more about their own life more than their child's. Sure it was hard, but it was worth it and Kellie was determined that Mikey would always know that he was the love of her life, despite the fact that his father wouldn't be around to do the same.

It was about a month after Mikey's disappearance that Conrad showed up the first time. Weeks ago, the police had stopped looking for Mikey and started looking for a body. Kellie refused to give up hope. Even when her mother was starting to break.

Conrad offered her a distraction. She was incensed when he came knocking softly on her door the day after. She wasn't sure she could handle another bout of him pretending to have no idea who she was. But curiosity got the best of her, and with her mom out at the grocery store to grab a few necessities, she decided against her better judgment to let him and the man he introduced as his father inside.

"I, um…" he stuttered, not quite able to meet her gaze. "I think you deserve an explanation. I know that what I'm about to tell you is going to sound weird, and honestly if I were you, I'm not sure I would believe it either, but—"

"Just spit it out, Conrad," Kellie interrupted, folding her arms tightly across her chest. "My mom will be back any minute now and last I heard, she's ready to kick your ass. I did you the favor of not telling her you were creeping around outside our house yesterday."

"Right," he answered, seeming startled. "Thanks."

As he launched into his explanation of where he'd been the last four years, his assessment of her reaction was accurate. She didn't believe him at all. At least not at first. Not until his father backed up everything he said and showed her the overstuffed manila folder containing the boy's psychiatric evaluations and other bits and pieces of information that seemed to lend credence to their story.

"So your name is really Kurt," Kellie began summarizing after their long, combined explanation. "You have multiple personalities and one of them is Conrad."

"Yes," Kurt sounded a bit relieved that she was following. "And when he or any of the other alters take over, I'm not really aware of what happens. I mean, now sometimes I am, it's taken a lot of work to get there, but back when you and Conrad…when you two were together, I was at my worst."

"Lovely," Kellie laughed bitterly, and both Kurt and his father seemed to realize at the same time how his statement had come across.

"No, I don't mean…I just mean that I was transitioning a lot, and it was a very confusing time for me."

"So why did you come here yesterday?" she asked. "If you had no idea about any of this, why did you come?"

"Conrad led me here," Kurt explained. "I had a strange feeling in my stomach the very first time I read about…about Mikey in the paper, and then even worse when I saw his picture on the news. I think Conrad must have put the puzzle pieces together and was trying to tell me about this, but the only way he could get through to me was to lead me here."

"Do you realize how crazy that sounds?" Kellie asked. She hadn't meant for it to sound so mean, but she wasn't going to soften the blow. This whole explanation was making her less angry at Conrad or Kurt or whoever he was and she wasn't ready to let go of that anger.

"Yes, I do," Kurt admitted softly. "And I'm so sorry that I don't have a saner explanation for you. But I can offer you my help and support now that I do know. And my dad's too."

"I knew when I saw your son's photo on the evening news that Kurt was connected to this somehow," Burt spoke up. "Mikey, he…he looks exactly like Kurt when he was a child."

"The police think he's dead," Kellie said emotionless, staring straight ahead. "My mom too."

Kurt gulped back the cry that was threatening to escape his throat. It was all a little too much for one twenty four hour period of time.

"What do you think?" Burt asked softly.

"I think if my son was dead I would feel it," she answered. "Whenever I'm at school and I get a weird feeling, I'll call home during class change and sure enough, my mom will tell me that Mikey's running a fever, or he fell and scratched his knee. We're connected, and…I just don't think he's dead."

"We're going to find him," Kurt said, with all the courage he could muster. "No matter what it takes."

Kellie nodded. She didn't want to like Kurt, but she felt comfort in his words. It was obvious that he and Conrad didn't share anything but a body and a face, and the longer Kurt sat on her couch, the more credible his story seemed to be.

The three of them spoke for a while after that, so deep in conversation, that they didn't hear the garage door open or close and they certainly didn't hear Kellie's mom come in with a sack of groceries in each arm.

"What the hell is he doing here?"

The angry voice startled all three of them, and out of instinct, both Kurt and his father jumped up from the couch.

"Mom," Kellie began nervously. "This is Kurt Hummel and his father and we have some things we need to talk about."


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: **Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the AMAZING, thoughtful responses to the last chapter! You are all fantastic and you motivate me so much. I'm sorry that chapters have been coming a bit slower than usual. I'll try to pick up the momentum over the holidays.

Thanks for reading :)

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara**

* * *

Jeremy Hern was beginning to have serious doubts about the whole thing. Well, that wasn't really true. He'd had doubts from the very beginning, it was just something he'd learned long ago to keep quiet about.

It was the worst moment of his life when his son Jordan had died. Even though he and his wife knew it was coming, it hadn't made that actual moment any easier. His wife, Marianne was absolutely inconsolable and almost delusional in her frantic ruminations about how they could have prevented Jordan's death, but nothing they could have done would have saved him from the cancer that plagued him since he was six months old until the time of his death two years later.

It wasn't fair, that such a young, innocent child should have to learn the harshest of life lessons. And it wasn't fair that Jeremy and Marianne had to bury the only child they'd worked so hard to have. Fertility treatments, endless doctor's visits, a high-risk pregnancy that saw Marianne on bed rest for nearly the entire term. But it had all been worth it when Jordan was born. He was perfect in every single way and everyone agreed he was a beautiful baby.

"Completely healthy," the doctor pronounced at their first post-birth check-up. There was nothing wrong with this child, until there was. At the first sign of something troublesome, the doctor said it was colic, and that Jeremy and Marianne were simply overreacting as all new parents had the tendency to do. But when things grew worse instead of better, the doctor finally ran the tests Marianne had been begging him to do all along. And then they knew.

The years following had been pure hell. Sleepless nights, tears, surgeries. But never once did Jordan stop smiling. Sure, he had his cranky days and times when the pain was overwhelming, but ultimately, the moment he felt even the smallest relief from the pain or nausea, he was a happy kid again. Jeremy and Marianne almost fooled themselves into believing that everything would be okay.

Now, Jeremy sat in his office alone, in the dark. He knew it was time to start heading home, to face the mess he'd found himself in. When Marianne first tentatively broached the subject of adoption, Jeremy had been dead set against it. Jordan had been gone for what, four months? How could she even begin to think about loving another child when their first was hardly gone? But she was persistent. She _needed_ a child, she needed it like she needed air to breathe. Her persistence wore him down in relatively short order and they began researching. But adoption is a slow process, painfully slow and Marianne couldn't wait that long. If only Jeremy could have seen the transition in his wife, the way her intense grief bled into frenzied obsession, maybe he could have prevented all this. Stopped it before it became the nightmare it was now.

There was no other way to see it than in the stark, cold reality that he was able to see it now. He and Marianne had paid someone to find them a child. No, no. That was too soft.

Jeremy and Marianne Hern had paid a criminal to kidnap an innocent child to replace the one they'd lost.

It was insane, at the very least. It was like a fucking Lifetime movie and he couldn't believe he was actually a part of it. If they were to get caught, he was certain they'd never see the light of day again. What they did was unforgiveable. They had done to another family what had been done to them, only it was so much worse. Stealing a child out of his front yard, forcing him to call he and his wife "Mommy and Daddy"…the more Jeremy thought about it, the more sick to his stomach he became. It was like the fog was finally lifting and he could see what they were doing for what it was. He had to stop this. He had to get this poor kid back to his family.

Even if it meant that he and his wife could never live freely again.

* * *

Sebastian was trying not to eavesdrop. No, that was a total lie. He was doing everything in his power to eavesdrop without appearing to do so. It wasn't hard to do in the cafeteria at Dalton. There was so much activity around him that no one seemed to notice that he'd been looking at the same page in his textbook for the past twenty minutes.

It was an educational lunch, but not in the way he'd been expecting when he cracked open his history book for some last minute cramming before his sixth period exam. Nick and Jeff, those loveable fools, sat down at the round table behind him and began jabbering on about God-knows-what, when all of the sudden, Sebastian picked up Kurt's name from their hushed conversation.

Sebastian was certain he'd misunderstood. He thought he heard Jeff say that Kurt found out he had a kid this past weekend. That his kid was the one who'd been missing for about a month now. But there was no way that was possible, Sebastian convinced himself. First of all, Kurt was as queer as a three dollar bill and how would he not know that he slept with a girl and possibly impregnated her?

And then it began to make more sense. Conrad's name floated above Sebastian's head and Sebastian knew then that what they were saying must be true. Jeff and Nick had begun speculating what in the hell happened to make all this come about and Sebastian figured it out in his head about the same time the two of them figured it out aloud.

The Mikey Rawlings kidnapping must have triggered something inside of Kurt. It wasn't lost on Sebastian that Daniel's first appearance coincided with the disappearance of the Rawlings kid. Maybe the creation of Daniel was some kind of subconscious response to seeing pictures of his own son plastering the news. A son he didn't even know he had.

The whole thing was just way too fucked up for Sebastian to deal with, and he found his strange attraction to Kurt almost instantly waning. Sebastian could put up with a lot of drama, but this was just too much. He almost pitied Kurt Hummel. Almost.

* * *

"So you think she understood?"

"Well," Kurt answered, rubbing his tired eyes. "Kellie definitely did. "Her mom, I'm not so sure."

Blaine rubbed Kurt's lower back as they laid on Kurt's bed. He and his father had come home about ten minutes earlier and Kurt pretty much made a beeline for the bedroom, with Blaine following quickly behind. They'd been gone for almost five hours and Blaine was worried. Now, after listening to a quick recap of Kurt and Burt's conversation with Kellie and her Mom and the brief interview by the police detective that followed, Blaine was trying to find something positive to tell his boyfriend. But nothing that came to his mind seemed right.

"How do you feel?" he asked tentatively, and immediately realized it wasn't the best thing to ask.

"How do you think I feel?" Kurt snapped back. "This is a complete nightmare. The only positive thing I can think of is that I didn't transition at all. At least, not until we got in the car to head back.

"You transitioned in the car?"

"Conrad, then Daniel, Jamie, Conrad again, Gina, Daniel, Conrad…eventually I just passed out until we pulled into the driveway."

Blaine winced. Nothing he'd read on the internet about helping a loved one with psychiatric disorders had prepared him for this situation. It was like a bad movie with a laughably unbelievable plot.

"Is there anything I can do?" Blaine finally tried.

"Will you just lay with me until I fall asleep?" Kurt asked quietly, and Blaine had never been so relieved.

"Of course I will," he responded, pulling Kurt closer.

It was a long while before Kurt finally fell into a deep sleep. He sobbed off and on for what seemed like hours, and cycled through brief but intense outbursts of anger and fear. When his eyes finally closed and his breaths evened out and the remaining tears on his face dried, only then did Blaine allow himself to start weeping quietly.

What in the world had he gotten himself into?


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:** Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! I've been really sick over the last few days, but I really wanted to get this chapter posted before tomorrow. Please forgive me for any mistakes, I really didn't have the energy to go over it with a fine-toothed comb.

Hope you are all having a wonderful week so far! Thanks for reading :)

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara.**

* * *

Chapter 18

In hindsight, Blaine's decision to leave that night and ignore Kurt's calls for the next three days probably wasn't the smartest course of action, but truth be told, Blaine was just short of too terrified to function. Ever since Kurt's connection to Mikey Rawlings had been discovered, Blaine found himself spiraling downward into a personal pit of fear and reluctance. He loved Kurt, more than anything, but all this? It was all too much, even for him to handle.

Kurt wouldn't blame him for leaving, Blaine could see that in his boyfriend's sorrowful, lost eyes and that made Blaine feel even more pathetic for doing it. Of course, Blaine wasn't quite sure what exactly he was doing. He didn't want to break up with Kurt, and certainly not in this fashion, but he just needed some time to think. And he needed someone to talk it over with, someone who wasn't involved.

"I don't know what to tell you, Blaine," Jeff finally spoke after Blaine's longwinded explanation of the last few days. "I just don't know."

Jeff found himself siding with Kurt in these situations more often than not. It was a no-brainer that when Kurt was healthy, he and Blaine were perfect for each other. But with this new information, a kid, a kidnapping and possible murder…Jeff couldn't blame Blaine for wanting to run in the other direction.

"When was the last time you talked to him?" Nick asked quietly. Blaine inwardly winced before answering.

"Three days."

"Jesus, Blaine," Jeff scolded him in a loud, harsh whisper. They were in the library after school, under the guise of studying for midterms. "I understand your reluctance, but to just ignore him, after everything else he's dealing with?"

"I know, okay?" Blaine shot back angrily. "Don't you think I know that? I feel like shit about it."

"You should."

"Well I do, alright?" Blaine buried his head in his folded arms on the table and let out a frustrated groan. Every time his phone buzzed with a new voicemail or text message from Kurt, of which there had been many, but were starting now to drop off a bit, Blaine felt that uncomfortable pang of regret in his chest. But it wasn't enough to make him pick up the phone and call him back.

"So what, you're just going to ignore him until he goes away?" Nick asked, his seldom-felt anger starting to bubble to the surface. He sympathized with Blaine for what he was going through, but he also felt for Kurt, who must be feeling more alone than ever by now.

"Of course not," Blaine snapped. "I'm not a monster."

"So how long are you going to let this go on then? Huh?" Nick spoke again, his voice rising in the empty library, enough for Jeff to squeeze his thigh in a silent effort to get him to calm down. "How many more minutes, hours, or days are you going to make Kurt sit at home and wonder whether the love of his life has just ditched him over something he has no control over without even the slightest explanation?"

"Shhh!" another student hushed them, just as the librarian at the front desk was getting up to do the same. Blaine sat there speechless, unable to think of a way to defend himself against Nick's tirade. He was right of course. Neither he nor Jeff were suggesting that Blaine needed to remain in a relationship with Kurt, although he could see in both of their eyes that this was what they were hoping for. They knew as much as Blaine did that this was an incredibly tough spot to be in. But what Blaine was doing to Kurt by ignoring him was really shitty. And Kurt deserved better.

"You're right," Blaine finally conceded a short while later. "I need to talk to him. And apologize. He deserves that."

"Damn straight," Nick muttered, his cheeks flushed the way they always became during his very few and far in-between bouts of anger. Jeff was watching him with a look of concern, and Blaine could tell from across the table that in that moment, his two best friends were showing the kind of love for each other that Blaine desperately craved to share with Kurt. The kind they had shared, before this whole mess with Mikey began.

But Blaine couldn't help thinking that all of that had been a lie. Even if Kurt hadn't known it, a _part_ of him had. Kurt had a child, for Christ's sake. The entire time he and Blaine had been together, Kurt had been a father. And now…God, it was all just too much. Blaine found himself running the same tired track in his brain that he'd been running since this whole mess began, and he hadn't the slightest idea how to step off.

* * *

Three days. Three days of unanswered phone calls, text messages, voicemails…Kurt even tried to Facebook his boyfriend, as desperate and pathetic as that felt while doing it. He forced himself not to call Nick or Jeff to make sure he was back at school and alright. He knew that if something had happened to Blaine, if he'd been in a car accident or something, someone would have called him.

No, instead Kurt just sat there in his room. That is, whenever he wasn't out of the house with his dad or Kellie trying to figure out how to go about finding Mikey. Television shows made it seem so easy. Someone is kidnapped, you find that one little hair or piece of clothing that the kidnapper left behind, you run DNA samples through a database and you find your bad guy and your child at the last second. But real life couldn't be farther from that fiction. Kurt almost felt guilty towards Mikey when he took a few moments here and there to worry about his status with Blaine. Then he got angry at Blaine for distracting him with his non-presence.

Kurt couldn't blame Blaine for wanting to take a step back to think things through, but to cease all communication altogether? That was just harsh and childish. Kurt tried to focus on his anger rather than his sadness over the situation and he let his anger fuel his passion for finding Mikey. It would happen, Kurt was determined they would find him alive. They just needed a break. Something, some kind of clue. Oh, who was Kurt kidding? What they needed was a miracle, and Kurt stopped believing in those years ago.

If they were going to find Mikey, they were going to have to do it through hard work and relentless searching. He just couldn't possibly see another way around it.

* * *

"Mister, can I please have some more macaroni?"

"Daddy," the woman correct Mikey, or Jordan as he had been forced to refer to himself. It was exhausting for him to try to learn all the routines of his new home and new parents, and referring to them as Mommy and Daddy was by far the hardest. This woman was not his mommy. She didn't look like his mommy, or sound like her or smell like her and her hugs _definitely _didn't feel like his mommy's. And as far his feelings for this daddy, Mikey didn't know what to think. He'd never had a daddy before, just Mommy and Nana. He was jealous of the other kids at preschool who had daddy's, and although this one was kind to him, even Mikey could sense that he was uncomfortable around the child. There was something behind his kind, sad eyes. Some other emotion that Mikey wasn't old enough to understand.

"Daddy, can I—"

"Sure, kiddo," the man interrupted his second try, spooning a second helping of macaroni on his plate. They were eating at the table, which Mikey never did with his real mommy. They would lay out a blanket on the living room floor and have picnics when Nana wasn't around. Nana made him sit at the table of course, but he didn't mind. He loved his nana and his really mommy. All he wanted to do was see them again.

"Jordan, honey, why are you crying?" the mommy asked him. Mikey hadn't even realized that tears were falling down his cheeks into his dinner. He didn't answer her, his sobs just got louder. He knew that he wasn't supposed to say that he missed his real mommy and nana. He learned that quickly in the first few days.

"You know why he's crying," the daddy said through gritted teeth. He seemed angry and that just made Mikey cry louder.

"He'll get used to us," the mommy responded, trying to soothe the boy by rubbing his back. "He just needs some time."

"He needs to go home."

Mikey's tears started to subside the minute he heard the words leave his new daddy's mouth. It was the first time that somewhere other than this house had been referred to as 'home' since Mikey arrived. He allowed a small glimmer of hope to build inside of him.

"He _is_ home, Jeremy! Don't ever speak like that in front of him again!"

The rest of the meal was silent, and Mikey's glimmer of hope started to fade. He was never going to see his family again. Not if his new mommy had anything to say about it. But there was something curious about this daddy. Even at such a young age, Mikey could see the difference. And maybe, just maybe, the daddy would figure out a way to get him home.

It was the only hope Mikey could grab on to, and he grabbed on fiercely. Toward the end of the meal, he was able to lock eyes with the daddy, only for a few seconds, but enough for Mikey to know that the daddy was on his side.

Mikey went to bed that night, allowing himself to fall asleep to happy images of reuniting with his mommy and nana. For the first time since he was kidnapped, Mikey slept like a rock.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: **Just one-ish scene in this chapter. But it's an important one. I'm not sure how much longer this story is going to be, but I think it's safe to say that we are well past the halfway mark. We'll see, anyway :) Thanks for reading and I always love to hear your reactions!

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara**

* * *

"I need a break."

Endless days and sleepless nights of obsessing over how to talk to Kurt about what he was going through and what he needed and that was what ended up coming out. Blaine could have kicked himself.

Kurt found himself starting to nod, but he quickly stopped himself. _No_, he thought to himself. _A break is what the last week has been about. He doesn't want a break, he wants to break up. He's just too nice to do it._

It was true, of course, to a certain extent. Even after his scolding from Nick and Jeff, it still took until the following weekend for Blaine to gather his courage to call Kurt, apologize for ignoring him and suggest that they get together and talk. Now they were at the Lima Bean, sitting across from each other like complete strangers.

"Kurt, say something. Please?"

Blaine hated how whiny and pathetic his voice sounded to his own ears. After all, why should Kurt have to say anything at all? This was Blaine's big idea to sit down and talk and all he could come up with was, 'I need a break?' Pathetic, Anderson. Really pathetic.

"No," Kurt finally answered after clearly his throat softly. The way his shoulders tensed up, Blaine knew that he wouldn't like whatever came next.

"No, what?" Blaine prompted gently, knowing his confusion wasn't making it any easier for Kurt to say whatever he needed to say.

"No, you don't need a break," he clarified. Blaine began to explain why he did, when Kurt's glare made him realize that shutting up was probably the best course of action.

"You either want to be in this relationship, or you don't," Kurt continued, trying his best to keep his voice level. "You've had a break. The past week was a break, even if you spent most of it thinking about me. You weren't here for me."

"Kurt—"

"But I understand," he continued over Blaine's soft protest. "The last week was really difficult, not knowing where you and I stand. With everything else going on, it was damn near unbearable."

Blaine could feel his face heat up with shame. He'd been so selfish. He could have at least sent Kurt a text or two so that he knew he was okay and thinking about him even if he wasn't ready to talk.

"But you know when it got easier? When I just pretended that we had broken up. I created the whole conversation in my head, complete with what we both said and wore and everything. It wasn't perfect, but it did the job. It gave me a sense of closure. And now here you are, trying to reel me back in and string me along while you try to decide whether or not you can handle having me in your life."

"It's not like that," Blaine spat out the words like they were bitter in his mouth. And they were, because it was _exactly_ like that, and he knew it. And the look that Kurt was giving him told him that he knew it too.

"So what then?" Blaine tried again, his voice cracking a bit with nerves. "Is this some kind of ultimatum? We're either together as we've always been or we break up?"

"No," Kurt shook his head with a small, sad smile playing on his lips. "There's no ultimatum. I'm breaking up with you, Blaine. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone in my life. But my love isn't good for you and you need to live your own life instead of always helping me try to survive mine."

Blaine was stunned.

"So I have no say in the matter, huh?" he asked angrily, tears forming in his eyes. The shock of what he'd just heard caused his hands to shake on top of the café table. "You get to decide we aren't together anymore and I have to just accept it?"

"That's generally how a break up works," Kurt said gently, with no hint of sarcasm. It was one of the worst feelings in the world, watching Blaine process everything and not be able to comfort him.

The pair sat in silence for what felt like a lifetime afterwards. When the sun started to set, Kurt reluctantly looked at his watch and sighed.

"I have to go," he announced. "I'm supposed to meet up with Kellie in a bit. She thinks she might be able to convince the police to tell her about some of their leads since they obviously aren't doing a great job following up on them themselves."

Blaine was hardly processing the words coming out of Kurt's mouth. In fact, he hardly processed that Kurt was still sitting across from him at all. It wasn't until Kurt spoke that he remembered where they were and what they were doing.

"Yeah," Blaine grunted, not able to bring himself to make eye contact with his now ex-boyfriend. All he could think about was how badly he screwed up and how he wished he could turn back time and change it.

But when Kurt got up from the table, told him goodbye and let the door to the coffee shop close lightly behind him, Blaine felt something he hadn't been expecting. It was like a boulder had been lifted off of his shoulders. He was still depressed and angry, but he was also relieved to a certain extent. He felt like a coward, effectively making Kurt break up with him through his own inaction, but now that it was all over, he felt…lighter.

He didn't know how long he'd sat there alone before a fresh, piping hot cup of coffee was thrust into his vision. The hand holding it gave away no clues as to the identity of its owner.

"You looked like you could use a refill."

Sebastian. Blaine wanted to be angry, but he was out of emotions for the day, and he must look pretty awful for Sebastian to risk life and limb by talking to him again.

"Can I sit down?" Sebastian asked him, and Blaine surprised even himself by nodding slightly. Sebastian pulled the chair that Kurt had been occupying what had to be several hours before. He pulled it back from the table, not scooting closer before sitting down. Blaine appreciated that Sebastian appeared to be giving him as much space as possible while still sitting at the same table.

"So—"

"I don't want to talk," Blaine cut him off. "But thank you for the coffee."

"Sure," Sebastian answered, taking a careful sip from his own. "No problem."

Blaine was impressed with Sebastian's ability to sit in silence with him for the half hour it took him to finish off his medium drip. He was about to excuse himself from the table when something else came out of his mouth.

"Kurt broke up with me," he said, startling even himself with the words. He could tell without even looking that Sebastian was having a hard time thinking of the right thing to say. After all, the whole crazy mess started with him and Daniel.

"Jesus, Blaine, I'm sorry," Sebastian finally said and Blaine could tell that there was more than a trace of guilt behind his words.

"Yeah," Blaine agreed with a humorless laugh. "Me too."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sebastian asked quietly, even though he was really hoping the answer was 'no.' Of all the people in the world to talk about relationship problems with, Sebastian would be the first to tell you he was an awful choice.

"No."

"Is there anything I can do?" Sebastian tried again, relief washing over him that he wouldn't have to sit there and be a shoulder for Blaine Anderson to cry on. He couldn't think of a worse way to spend a Saturday night.

"Just…don't tell anyone, okay?" Blaine asked, making eye contact with him for the first time since he sat down. "Everyone will know soon enough, I just want to delay the fallout just a little bit longer."

"Of course," Sebastian agreed. It wasn't like anyone talked to him anyway. Not at Dalton, in any case. Sebastian didn't consider himself that much of a gossip anyway. He only spilled secrets when it could help him in some way, and he didn't see how this news could possibly do anything for him. After everything he'd overheard about Kurt in the last few days, he was fairly certain his infatuation was cured, although thoughts of Daniel did color his dreams nearly every night. But even Sebastian could tell when great sex just wasn't worth the price tag.

"Do you need a ride back?" Sebastian asked a few minutes later. He was ready to leave, but the small, human part of him felt guilty for leaving Blaine alone. "I think the shop is closing soon."

"No," Blaine sighed, taking the cue and gathering his trash. "I drove, but thank you. Thanks for listening."

Sebastian wanted to remind him that he hadn't done much of anything but sit there, but he understood what Blaine was trying to say. He was thanking him for the coffee and his silence and that was it. Sebastian nodded his head in response, told Blaine goodbye and headed out to his own car.

_These Dalton boys are a fucking mess_, he thought to himself, shaking his head. He watched from inside his car as Blaine got up from the table and stretched a bit before stumbling out the door and to his own car. Sebastian decided he would follow Blaine back to Dalton. He knew that Blaine wasn't drunk, but after the day he had, it was safe to assume that Blaine would be driving at least a little bit impaired. It wasn't often that Sebastian performed a public service, but making sure Blaine got back safe was the decent thing to do.

Thirty minutes later, as Sebastian watched Blaine stumble out of his car and toward his dorm building, he had to fight the urge to get out of his own car and help him to his room. It was the same strange urge he'd had to give Blaine a hug at the coffee shop as they left. Sebastian had spent over a year now successfully disregarding the lust he'd felt for Blaine when they first met. And even now, it wasn't really lust he was feeling for Blaine. Okay, he would be lying if he didn't admit that he still sometimes thought about Blaine in the privacy of his bed or the shower, but that wasn't what was motivating his thoughts tonight.

_Snap out of it, Smythe_, he told himself. If anything was to be learned about his time at Dalton, it was that it's a horrible idea to get tangled up with Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson. It would never work out favorably for him, and so far his attempts had had disastrous results. The last thing he needed was to play that game again.

Talking himself out of whatever it was he was thinking and feeling for Blaine in that moment, Sebastian parked his car and headed to his own dorm. It was still early for a Saturday night, but he went to bed anyway. It was the only way he could get his brain to shut up about stupid Blaine Anderson.

But Sebastian soon learned that going to sleep offered him no shelter from the thoughts. They invaded his sleep and for the thousandth time in his life, Sebastian cursed the all or nothing nature of his mind and his obsession.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** Happy New Year everyone! Thanks for all the thoughtful responses to the last chapter. We'll just have to wait and see what happens with our poor Klaine. Hopefully these boys can eventually work things out. Thanks for reading!

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara.**

* * *

For the fourth evening in a row, Kurt found himself in Kellie Rawlings' bedroom. At this point, it was almost assumed that once he finished his classes for the day at Dalton, he could be found at Kellie's house. Not that anyone seemed to be looking. Ever since his break up with Blaine almost a week ago, people at Dalton had been giving Kurt his space. It's not that his friends didn't try, Nick and Jeff especially. But when Kurt asked them to back off, they did, and he was eternally grateful.

Now, sitting next to Kellie on her bed, Kurt leaned back and studied the girl. He could see why Conrad had been drawn to her. She was pretty, not gorgeous, but pretty, with what he imagined would be a carefree spirit under different circumstances. Her long blond hair was almost always pulled into a messy side pony, gathered just slightly over her right shoulder and she had the same spattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose that Kurt himself had and tried so hard to conceal. But that was the thing about Kellie, she didn't try to conceal those or anything else about her life. She was an open book as far as Kurt could tell. Honest almost to a fault and he respected that. Deep within him, he hoped that when they did eventually find Mikey, they would remain friends. It would be a very different friendship than he was used to, but one that he really wanted.

"What are you staring at?"

Kellie's question snapped Kurt out of his thoughts and he focused on her face, even though he'd been staring at it the whole time.

"I—um, I…" Kurt watched as a slow, small smile began spreading across her lips. She was enjoying how flustered he was. He could feel himself start to blush, so he quickly changed topics. "Finding anything?"

Kellie eyed him skeptically once more before dropping her head back down. "Nothing. Not a single thing. Ugh! This is so frustrating! Kurt, what are we doing?"

"Whatever we can," he answered quickly, but he knew his answer didn't change anything. Everywhere they looked led to a dead end and some leads left them with more questions than answers. The police hadn't been very helpful when they asked to pursue the leads on their own, so instead they relied on people who'd called the house directly looking to help out, or their own ideas about what may have happened. Kurt found himself waking up two or three times a night with a new idea. He'd begun leaving a pad of paper and a pen on his bedside table just to make sure he didn't forget in the morning. But so far nothing had panned out. Kurt could feel their combined resolve beginning to shake.

"Maybe we just need a break," he added. They'd been at it nonstop for hours by that point, and Kurt was going to have to leave soon anyway. "Do you want to go grab some coffee?"

"You're obsessed with that coffee shop, you know that?" Kellie teased wearily. "But yeah, that actually sounds perfect. But you're not buying this time."

"We'll see," Kurt said with a smile. It was something else he could count on by this point. Every night they would end up at the Lima Bean and every night Kurt paid, despite Kellie's protestations.

"People are going to think we're dating if you keep this up," she added, grabbing her coat and scarf off of the back of her desk chair.

"When did you start caring what people think?" Kurt teased.

"I don't care," she explained, placing extra emphasis on the 'I'. "But if some cute guy walks in, he's not going to even notice you if he sees you buying coffee for some girl."

Kurt was continuously amazed at how okay Kellie was with the whole mess that Conrad started. At first, she'd been confused, but once Kurt and his dad explained everything and Kurt was able to introduce himself to her as Kurt instead of Conrad, she was quick to make the distinction. He was grateful for such understanding and grace, and while Conrad was still a bit of a touchy subject, especially when Kellie's mom was in earshot, Kurt couldn't have asked for someone more understanding.

"I'm done with dating for a while," he answered, tying on his own scarf. "In fact, I think I'm done with dating forever. Life's complicated enough as it is."

"I'm with you on that one," Kellie agreed. She wanted to tell him, _Don't say that, you don't mean it_, but she didn't. After all, she was the poster child for complicated life. Unwed teenage mother with a missing child. Yeah, she knew where Kurt was coming from.

"Shall we?" Kurt asked, offered his arm. Kellie slipped her arm playfully through his, although by the time they got to the bottom of the stairs, they separated. Kellie's mom was doing her best to be understanding about Kurt's history and the fact that he was spending all of his time at her house, but they figured it was best not to push their luck. The way she eyed Kurt sometimes still made him uncomfortable.

After telling her mother goodbye, Kurt and Kellie left in Kurt's car and began the short trip to the Lima Bean. And for the fourth night in a row, he hoped and prayed that he wouldn't run into Blaine there.

It wasn't that he was avoiding Blaine, per se. It was just that, if given the option, Kurt would rather not see him. It was hard enough in class and at Warbler practice looking up and seeing those sad, puppy dog eyes staring back at him, but to be put in a social situation where casual chatting with his now ex-boyfriend would be all but inevitable was not very desirable to him. One day they would sit down and talk. One day, but hopefully not this day.

* * *

Blaine was doing what he'd been doing every single afternoon after school since the breakup. He was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking of ways he could fix everything without making any actual effort to do any of those things. Jeff referred to it as wallowing, but Blaine preferred to think of it as brainstorming. But it didn't matter how many times he went over the situation in his head, the outcome was always the same. He'd been such a shitty boyfriend that he pretty much forced Kurt to break up with him.

"That's a little harsh, don't you think?" Jeff had asked him after he expressed this sentiment aloud one day.

"No," Blaine grunted back. "It's true, I just ignored him. Stopped calling him or answering his calls. What was he supposed to do?"

"Okay, that part was pretty shitty," Jeff agreed. "But Blaine, it takes two in a relationship, you know that. Kurt still loves you, I'm pretty positive about that. He just…"

"Doesn't have time because he's too busy looking for his kidnapped child?"

"Well, yeah…I mean—"

"Can we just stop talking about this now?" Blaine pleaded. And with a heavy sigh, Jeff got up and left Blaine alone with his thoughts again. The days that passed in-between then and now were much of the same, with Jeff and sometimes Nick trying to talk Blaine into rejoining the world of the living and Blaine making excuse after excuse as to why he couldn't or wouldn't. He was hoping they would eventually give up, but he knew that was a lost cause. No one was more stubborn than the combination of Nick and Jeff when a friend was down. Deep down he knew they wouldn't stop until he was back on his feet again. The problem was, he didn't see an end in sight and he really wasn't sure he wanted to. Now, when Blaine heard Jeff's footsteps approaching the room, he braced himself for their nightly struggle.

"Dude, up. Come on. Let's go, no excuses."

Blaine turned his head slightly to look up at Jeff standing over him.

"What?" he asked, playing dumb. "No, forget it, I'm not going anywhere."

"It's Friday night, Blaine," Jeff said, throwing a fresh t-shirt at his friend. "You've wallowed all week and I'm sick of it. You are getting out of this room."

"Jeff, give it a rest," Blaine sighed with exhaustion, even though he hadn't don't much to be exhausted in a week's time. "I just want to stay here, okay? Alone. Shouldn't you be with your boyfriend right now?"

"Oh he's here," Jeff explained, this time throwing a clean pair of socks so that they landed on Blaine's face. Blaine gave him a death stare as he dragged them off his face and threw them down on the bed beside him. "He just stopped to take a leak."

"Good, then when he comes back, you two can go to dinner and a movie or something. You deserve a nice, romantic night out."

"Cut the shit, Blaine, you're coming with us and that's the end of it!"

Blaine and Jeff then engaged it what could only be described as an epic stare down. It was understood that the person who looked away first would lose and when Blaine's right eyelid began to twitch, he looked away with a frustrated groan.

"I hate you," he muttered as he laced up his shoes a few minutes later.

"Love," Jeff answered with a smirk. "You definitely mean love."

"Whatever," Blaine answered, standing up. "Wherever you plan on taking me, it better start with coffee."

"What else is there to do in this God-forsaken town?" Jeff grinned, smacking him hard on the back as he followed him out of the room, pleased with his success. It didn't really matter where they went as long as they went _somewhere_. It was the first step in getting Blaine back on his feet and if that meant going to the Lima Bean every day for a month, then so be it. Not to mention it was pretty much the only place to be in Westerville.

"Lima Bean it is, then," Jeff added when Blaine didn't respond. The two met up with Nick who was waiting out in the hallway and began making the trek to the parking lot.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N:** Wow, this chapter ended up really long. Hope everyone is okay with that. ;) Thanks for reading, as always!

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara**

* * *

"Why did I have to go there?" Kurt groaned miserably. "I just _had_ to go to the Lima Bean, didn't I?"

Finn looked over at Kurt, unsure whether this was one of those rhetorical questions Rachel used to go on about.

"Well, isn't it, like, the only place for nerds to hang out between here and Westerville?" Finn fumbled, trying to avoid his step-brother's icy stare.

"Nerds?" Kurt answered critically. "Like Breadstix is so much cooler?"

He had to admit that Finn had a point though. There really weren't that many places to hang out on a Friday night in western Ohio. But still, he had to have known that going to the Lima Bean every single day after working with Kellie was bound to result in a run-in with Blaine. The fact that it took a whole week was pretty remarkable, actually.

"Fine, sorry, non-sports, party, cool kids I mean," Finn amended.

"I think you're better off sticking with nerds," Kurt rolled his eyes before dropping his head in his hands. They were sitting at the kitchen table after Finn picked him up from the Lima Bean. He was exhausted, but despite how much his body wanted to sleep, his mind wouldn't turn off after the excitement of the evening.

"Whatever," Finn answered, trying not to get frustrated. Kurt was pretty hard to deal with after a crisis and the last thing he wanted to do was agitate him to the point where he started transitioning again. "Why don't you just tell me what happened, from the beginning."

Kurt shot him a tortured look, as if hashing out the details from the evening was the last thing he ever wanted to do.

"It's a little foggy," he finally answered. It hadn't been that long ago that he'd begun mastering the ability to stay somewhat present in his mind when his alters took over. "But I'll try…"

* * *

Kurt and Kellie were waiting in an unusually long line for their coffees. Sure, it was nearly wintertime in Ohio on a Friday night, where admittedly, there wasn't much else to do, but even with these conditions, the Lima Bean didn't' usually get this busy. When Kurt overhead a couple of people talking about the movie they'd just gotten out of, he understood why there was a crowd.

"Maybe we should go see Zombie Killers 4," Kellie mused aloud, obviously picking up on the same conversations Kurt was.

"Spoiler alert, everyone's a zombie," Kurt joked lamely with a nervous laugh. The truth was, Kurt hated scary movies. He didn't understand how you could derive pleasure from getting the crap scared out of you. Of course, he didn't want to admit this to Kellie, who seemed pretty enthused about the idea.

"What's wrong, are you afraid?" she asked with a sly smile. Was Kurt really that easy to read?

"You caught me," he answered quickly, putting his hands up in mock surrender. He hoped his joking and vague avoidance of the question would put the subject to rest. Either his ploy worked or she sensed the truth (knowing Kurt's luck, probably the latter) and she dropped it, turning her attention instead to the menu board above the cashier.

"I think I'm going to try the spiced hot chocolate," she said, eyes still scanning over the chalked list. "Maybe a muffin too, I'm starving."

Kurt liked that Kellie wasn't afraid to admit that she was hungry. It was so refreshing not to have to assure her that she could eat and wouldn't gain a hundred pounds like he had to do with his girlfriends at McKinley.

"That sounds—"

"Kurt?"

Kurt stopped mid-sentence as he heard his name called from farther back in the line. It was Nick. And he knew without turning around that this was the moment he'd been dreading. He could hear it in the way Nick called out his name, he wasn't alone. Blaine was with him.

Kurt shot a look at Kellie, who was already turning around and craning her neck to see who'd called for him, before slowly turning himself, trying to rework his expression of dread into one of happy surprise. Spotting Nick, he saw that his hunch had been correct. Standing on one side of him was Jeff and on the other, Blaine. Nick and Jeff were waving at Kurt while Blaine looked off to the side, obviously just as uncomfortable with the situation as Kurt was.

"Who is that?" Kellie asked quietly while Kurt gave a small wave back. From her vantage point, she could see Nick and Jeff, but Blaine was obscured. Kellie might not have even recognized him anyway from that day in the car in front of her house, but as she and Kurt grew closer, their post-research conversations tended to drift back to Blaine. Kellie had seen enough pictures of him on Kurt's IPhone to be able to pick him out in a crowd.

"J-just some friends," Kurt stuttered, swallowing hard. "And Blaine."

"Okay," Kellie turned to face him and grabbed both of his shoulders with strong hands as she went into emergency crisis mode. Kellie was tall, about the same height as Kurt, and when she shook him, he snapped to attention. "You can do this Kurt. You see him every day at school, right?"

"Yeah, but we're in class or Warbler practice and we don't actually have to talk to one another. We haven't spoken since…"

"Wait, what?" Kellie asked incredulously. "You haven't spoken since you broke up? Not two words?"

Kurt shook his head vigorously. As more seconds flew by, both of them knew they were going to have to make a move or it would get even more awkward than it already was.

"Okay, we have to go say hello," Kellie decided. Kurt's nauseated look didn't go unnoticed. On impulse, she reached down and took his hand in hers, noticing how sweaty it was and choosing to ignore it. "It's fine Kurt, this was going to happen sooner or later, you might as well get it over with. Come on."

Just like that, Kellie was dragging Kurt out of their place in line and pulling him towards his friends. Jeff and Nick shot a confused glance at each other as they saw this unfamiliar girl dragging their friend towards them. As they got closer, Blaine finally looked up to see them approaching.

"Hey," Kurt greeted softly with a pained smile as they finally reached the group. "Fancy meeting you guys here."

"Yeah, we were just getting a little stir-crazy in the dorms, you know," Jeff answered, looking awkwardly between Nick and Blaine before returning his attention to Kurt.

"Yeah I know how that is," Kurt agreed, cursing his stupid addiction to caffeine.

"I'm just going to go wait in the car," Blaine mumbled, but Nick caught him on the shoulder and Blaine didn't struggle.

"Um," Kellie cleared her throat gently, as if it would alleviate some of the tension. "Hi, sorry, I don't think we've met, I'm Kellie."

Nick and Jeff seemed to immediately remember their manners when she began to speak and both reached out to shake her hand.

"Nick and Jeff, it's nice to meet you," Nick spoke for both of them.

"Ah, the famous Nick and Jeff," Kellie answered with a smile. "I've heard a lot about you."

"And you as well," Jeff answered.

"Well then," Kellie squared her shoulders again. She knew that this meant they probably knew the whole story, and she could feel the color begin to rise in her cheeks. A change of subject was definitely in order. "And Blaine, it's good to see you again. I'm sorry you probably didn't get the best impression of me at our first meeting."

Blaine did his best to smile as he shook her hand, cursing himself for the way his hands trembled and hoping that Kurt couldn't tell from where he was standing. But when he shot a quick look to Kurt to see if he could, he saw that Kurt wasn't paying attention to anyone. He was just staring with this far-off look in his eyes, like he was in a different place all together. Blaine jabbed Nick in the side with his elbow and motioned toward Kurt.

"Hey Kurt? You okay?" Nick asked, placing a tentative hand on his friends shoulder. The touch seemed to snap him out of his daze and he jumped back, almost bumping into the person in front of him in line.

"Whoa, cowboy, no need to get handsy!"

The drawl and vernacular were unmistakable. Even Kellie picked up on it immediately.

"Conrad?" she asked quietly. As soon as his eyes locked in on hers, she was transported back to a different time. Feeling small, she crossed her arms over her chest and watched him.

"Well, you two probably have a lot to catch up on, we should go." Blaine interrupted. He knew it was cruel, but for some reason, an anger was bubbling up inside of him. He was irritated that Kurt chose this moment to transition…and then he immediately realized that for the first time, he was blaming Kurt for something that was beyond his control.

"Are you out of your mind, Blaine?" Jeff hissed, this time being the one to restrain his friend. "We can't just leave him with her!"

"Why not?" Blaine asked, his voice growing louder. "This is the happy couple, remember? Reunited and it feels so good!"

"Blaine, calm down," Nick spoke quietly. Heads were starting to turn.

"Why don't you show a little more respect towards the lady?" Conrad turned his attention to Blaine, the unspoken threat in his words coming across loud and clear.

"My name is Kellie, in case you forgot, and I don't need you to fight my battles," Kellie said angrily, turning towards Conrad. Nick and Jeff could see that this was spinning way out of control.

"Now don't get your panties in a wad, baby."

"Yeah_, baby_," Blaine mocked. He was embarrassed with himself even as he spoke the words, but it didn't feel like he could stop them from coming out.

"Jesus, Blaine!" Jeff said right as Conrad lunged toward him. Thankfully a large barista noticed the conflict and grabbed Conrad's shoulders just in time to hold him back.

"That's it!" the guy shouted. His nametag read 'Justin'. "Outside, all of you!"

Nick and Jeff both shot the guy a grateful look that he seemed to ignore before reaching over and guiding Blaine out. Conrad and Kellie were close on their heels. The tips of Kellie's ears burned red hot as she caught the stares from the patrons of the coffee shop crowding her peripheral vision.

She thought about continuing straight to her car and driving off once the cold air hit her face, but as angry as she was with Conrad, she didn't want to leave Kurt alone in this mess.

"You need to pull yourself together!" Nick whispered to Blaine.

"Yeah, sweetheart," Conrad added with a mocking laugh. "Time to put on your big boy panties and act like a man."

"Oh, is that what you are?" Blaine shot back. He couldn't believe he was engaging Conrad in an argument, but all of his level-headedness had gone out the window. "Because I thought a man didn't knock up some chick and then never call her back."

Kellie gasped at the vitriol in Blaine's voice and if she'd been close enough, she would have reached out and punched him in the face herself. Conrad, however, didn't let the distance between them hinder his next move. With the speed of a gazelle, Conrad was launching himself toward Blaine. Blaine, who hadn't been anticipating the move and was knocked back on the ground as Conrad landed on top of him, punching him hard. The fall had knocked the wind out of him and the constant stream of blows wasn't helping him gain it back.

"Do something!" Kellie shouted frantically as they wrestled on the ground, exchanging blows. The sound of her voice finally broke Nick and Jeff out of their trance as they watched the bizarre scene unfold.

It took Nick, Jeff and the help of some bystanders to get the two boys separated and when they did, it wasn't a pretty sight. Both boys had busted lips and what promised to be a couple of black eyes. They both heaved heavily and launched half-hearted lunges at each other as they continued to shout insults and vulgarities at each other.

They'd all seen this side of Conrad before, but it was almost as if Blaine had transitioned into someone else altogether himself.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kellie saw Nick separate himself from the crowd and pull out his cellphone. She hoped he was calling someone to come pick Conrad up, because after all this, she sure as hell didn't want him riding in her car. Trusting that her hunch was right, she returned her attention to the two boys in front of her.

"Should I call the police?" a woman's voice called out from the crowd. Blaine, Conrad, Jeff and Kellie all shouted, "No!" at practically the same time, and the woman, startled, shrunk back into the crowd.

"You ruined my life, you know that?" Blaine shouted. "You absolutely ruined my life."

No one knew if he was speaking to Kurt or Conrad in that moment, but something about the defeat in his voice led all of them to believe he was speaking to the former.

Conrad didn't respond, except to shrug off the guys who held him back.

"Get off me man, I'm out of here!" he shouted and started walking down the dark road.

"Conrad, wait," Kellie yelled after him in spite of herself. "Where are you going?"

He didn't respond.

"Actually, plan B, he's walking down the road in your direction," Nick told whomever he was on the phone with. "He'll probably be about five miles out by the time you reach him. Thanks Finn, we owe you one."

_Finn, Kurt's brother_, Kellie told herself, relieved. With that settled, she turned to the other boys as the crowd around them began to dissipate. "Well that was fun, I'm leaving now."

"Kellie, wait."

Kellie stopped in her tracks only because the voice behind her was not the one she'd been expecting. _Great timing, Blaine Anderson. Bravo._

"You don't talk to me," Kellie spoke fiercely, turning around to face him. "Not another word. I'm sorry for what happened between you and Kurt, but you had no right to use me against him or Conrad. You don't know the first thing about me."

And with that, she turned on her heel and left. She heard Jeff or Nick try to call after her again, but she kept walking. The night had turned into an absolute nightmare and she wasn't quite sure where to go from there. Within a fifteen minute period of time, she found herself once again strapped down with the uncertainty and hurt that came along with having Conrad back in her life. What the hell was she doing befriending Kurt Hummel? What was she thinking? It was all too much.

As she climbed in her car, she thought about Mikey and felt an immediate pang of guilt. She was being selfish. She was so lonely, so starved for friends after her old ones all ditched her once she became pregnant, that she forgot why she'd agreed to let Kurt into her life in the first place. It was to help her find her son. And now she let it turn into this.

Kellie made a silent vow to her son as she turned her car on. She would find him, and she would forget all of this nonsense until she did.

* * *

"So you transitioned into Conrad and he had some words with Blaine and then you two beat each other up?"

"Yeah," Kurt nodded miserably, shifting the bag of frozen peas over his swollen eye. "I mean, I guess. I don't really know who said what, but I remember punches being thrown. And then the next thing I remember, I'm waking up in your car heading here."

Finn stood up to get Kurt a fresh wash rag. All of the talking had caused his busted lip to open back up again.

"What are you going to tell Burt?" Finn asked, handing the rag to Kurt.

"The truth," he sighed. "I learned my lesson long ago."

"And Blaine? What are you going to do about him?"

"I have no idea," Kurt admitted. He knew he would have to call Nick or Jeff for the whole story. Or Kellie—

"Oh my God," Kurt gasped, remembering Kellie's role in the whole fiasco. "I need to talk to Kellie."

A look of confusion washed over Finn's face before he figured it out. Kurt had been with Kellie at the Lima Bean. Kurt transitioned into Conrad. Conrad and Kellie…

"This is bad, isn't it?" Finn asked, wincing.

"Understatement of the century," Kurt muttered, pulling out his phone. He knew as the phone rang that she wouldn't pick up. Why would she? Ending the call in defeat, he slid off of the kitchen barstool and headed to his room with a barely muttered 'thanks' to Finn for finding him and taking him home. At least it was the weekend again. He had two full days to start figuring this mess out.

He was finally tired enough to go to sleep, as evidenced by the way he flopped down on his bed and falling fast asleep, completely bypassing his nightly skin routine. His dreams were colorful that night, each one a nightmare or anxiety dream. Even in unconsciousness, his brain wouldn't give him a break.

Kurt Hummel was in a very deep hole and for the first time in a week, his dreams didn't involve finding his son.

* * *

**So what did you think? How is Kurt going to get out of this mess and what the heck is up with Blaine? I'd love to hear your thoughts!**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N:** Hello again! Thanks for the great reviews on the last chapter. I may not always respond, but I do want you to know that I take what you say to heart. This story isn't written out ahead of time, so I take your suggestions and musings very seriously. On that note, I've had several readers ask if Klaine is endgame in this story and if you asked me at the beginning, I would have said definitely, however now I'm not so sure. I really want them to be, so I'd say there's still a good 85% chance that Klaine is endgame, but I won't make any promises I can't keep.

Thanks again for reading, I hope you enjoy this chapter and don't want to kill me by the end. :)

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara**

* * *

What Kurt's dreams _did_ involve wasn't that much better. He had all of his classic anxiety dreams, like the one where he forgot to wear pants to school or the one where he was trying to get home but every road was unfamiliar or led to a dead end. He even had that crazy dream that he was pregnant and had to somehow break the news to his father. But those dreams didn't concern him. There was only one that made him wake up from his slumber and made it impossible to fall back asleep.

It was Blaine's voice. Kurt couldn't see him, but he could hear him and it was definitely Blaine. There was a lot of shouting, a lot of angry words being hurled back and forth between Blaine and someone else. But it was the sad, defeated words at the end that caused him to sit straight up in bed.

"_You ruined my life, you know that? You absolutely ruined my life."_

Kurt had certainly never had that dream before. Looking around his room, he could see that the gray light of a winter morning was starting to filter through his bedroom window. He could try to go back to sleep, and he briefly considered the option, but he know it would be pointless. Those words hurt, even if they had been a dream, and he was shaken by how real it felt to hear them. _Is that what he thinks about me? _Kurt asked himself_. Is my brain trying to warn me that this is what I'm doing to him?_

Kurt shook his head. It didn't matter. He and Blaine were no longer together and from the bits and pieces that he remembered coupled with the terse recounting he got from Kellie the night before when he'd woken up close to midnight for a brief while to call her and apologize. She said she understood but Kurt knew it wasn't that easy. Seeing Conrad must have been awful for her and Kurt understood that well enough to know that she would call him when she was ready. He just hoped that would be sooner rather than later.

He hadn't forgotten that there was still the seemingly impossible task of finding Mikey. A task that grew more and more improbable by the day. Because he didn't have the special connection to Mikey that Kellie did, he had to rely on her gut feelings and instincts about their child. He trusted her when she said he was still alive, but it was getting harder and harder each day that passed with no headway made. He would keep searching, though. He would search until they found him, even if it took forever. He was up to the task.

"Hey, Kurt!"

Kurt groaned inwardly as he heard his father's voice and footsteps coming up the stairs. Burt and Carole hadn't come home until Kurt was already in bed and he still hadn't figured out a way to explain the state of his face without Burt wanting to take his favorite hunting rifle over to the Anderson's house for a visit.

"I wasn't expecting you home this weekend," Kurt could hear him say as he approached the room and began opening the door. "To what do we owe this—Jesus, Kurt! What happened to you? Who did this?"

"Calm down, dad, I'm fine," Kurt said, sitting up straighter in the bed and trying his best to flatten his wild bed head hair down. He winced as his hand accidently brushed his bruised cheek.

"You are not fine!" Burt practically shouted in Kurt's ear. Kurt knew his father wasn't angry with him, he was just very loud when he was concerned. "Now tell me what the hell happened, and I want the truth!"

By this time, Carole and Burt had both skidded into the open doorway, startled by the sudden shouting so early in the morning.

"Oh my God, Kurt!" Carole rushed to him, sitting down on the bed next to him and gingerly prodding his injuries with her fingers.

"He's fine, Mom, I swear," Finn chimed in.

"You knew about this?" Burt wheeled around to address his stepson. "You let this happen?"

"Burt!" Carole scolded.

"No it wasn't like that," Finn quickly explained. "I just went to pick him up."

"Pick him up from where? What—"

"EVERYONE STOP!"

Kurt yelled so loudly his shrill voice even hurt his own ears, but it did the trick.

"If you will all just be quiet for two minutes, I'll explain everything," he said, pausing to make sure they were actually going to stay quiet and listen to him.

"Kellie and I were at the Lima Bean last night when we ran into Blaine," Kurt continued, grateful that his parents already knew about the break-up so he didn't have to explain why running into his ex was such a tragedy. "Conrad emerged and picked a fight with Blaine and that's what happened."

"So Blaine did this to you." Burt said. It wasn't a question, rather a statement of fact. A very quietly angry statement of fact.

"Yes, but by all accounts, Conrad started the fight and Blaine was doing whatever he could to get Conrad off of him and defend himself."

"That's what Jeff told me on the phone too when he called to have me pick Kurt up," Finn added and Kurt sent his a silent thank you across the room with his eyes. Kurt wasn't sure why it was so important for him to defend his ex-boyfriend in all of this, but he couldn't help feeling like he owed Blaine something after the mess he'd put him through.

_You absolutely ruined my life._

Kurt swallowed and chanced a look at his enraged father. Kurt could tell he was stewing, but took his silence for a good thing.

"And how does Blaine look?"

Kurt and Finn looked at each other. It wasn't something they'd talked about last night, but apparently Nick had explained more than Finn than he told Kurt about the night before at the kitchen table.

"A lot worse than Kurt, from what I gather," Finn answered quietly, as if it pained him to do so. Kurt hung his head slightly_. Damn it, _he thought_. At least if I looked worse I could feel like I got what I deserve. Now I'm back to square one._

Everyone waited in silence for Burt's reaction. It took a while for him to form words, but when he did, he simply said, "You're staying here this weekend," and then he left the room and the commotion was over as soon as it had started.

Kurt knew that wasn't the end of it. The weekend would be filled with questions and trying to figure out why Kurt had transitioned and how he could have used his coping skills to try to prevent it. He flopped back down on the bed and squeezed his eyes shut, knowing full well that Carole and Finn were still sitting quietly in the room.

"C'mon Finn, you can help me set the table for breakfast," Carole said after a few moments, and Kurt could hear Finn shuffling out of the room almost immediately. "I'll come get you when breakfast is ready, okay? Get a bit more sleep, son."

And with that, Carole left, closing the door gently behind her. He was grateful for the reprieve, but he knew that falling back asleep wasn't an option. He would sit there and quietly think about this disaster and what he could do to fix it and try to silence Dream Blaine's words echoing in his mind.

_You ruined my life, you know that? You absolutely ruined my life._

* * *

Today was the day. Jeremy Hern was certain of that. He'd waited long enough as it was, tried everything he could to convince his wife to end this charade, but it seemed like the harder he tried, the more ground he lost in the argument. She was crazy, he realized this now. She hadn't always been, but something snapped when they lost Jordan, and it only grew worse and worse every day. Jeremy had to do something. The poor kid hadn't slept more than a few minutes at a time since he'd been with them for nearly a month. He wasn't eating properly and it wasn't healthy for him to be holed up inside the house, his "mommy" too afraid to let him see the sunlight.

Jeremy rolled over in the bed, throwing his arm gently across the sheets in a blind search for Marianne's waist. But his hand fell straight to the mattress. He fished it around, still not opening his eyes until it became apparent that Marianne was no longer in the bed. Rolling back over and swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he was all but certain that she was sleeping in the boy's room again, watching him, telling him stories to try to help him sleep in this strange new world of his.

As he shuffled down the hallway toward his room, Jeremy went over the plan in his head once more, even though he'd already mentally rehearsed it a thousand times. He would go to work as normal and as soon as he got there, he would put the call in to the police. He would leave from work, presumably to the police station and turn himself in there. And from there, he didn't know what to expect next. All he knew was that it had to happen today. He couldn't bear another day of the guilt that was eating at him.

Slowly opening the door so as not to wake Marianne or the boy, he was startled to see the room completely empty, the bed already made and a note lying on the pillow. Gulping back his dread, he walked slowly over and picked up the note, fearing that he already knew what was written under the fold. Opening it, he read:

_Dearest Jeremy,_

_I'm sorry that it had to be like this. I know what you were planning to do and as much as I love you, I can't let you take him from me. I can't lose him again. Don't try to find us._

_Love, Marianne and Jordan_

Jeremy started to crumple the note angrily, but thought better of it. The police would need it as evidence, he imagined.

Rushing back to his room, he picked up his cellphone off of the charger and dialed 911 with shaky fingers as he tried to keep his heart from pounding out of his chest.

"_911, what's your emergency?"_

"Yes," Jeremy answered, his voice wavering with tears and pure fear. "I need to report a crime."


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N:** Sorry this chapter is so short, but I wanted to post now because I'm not sure when I'll get to again. Hopefully sometime this weekend :) Thanks for all of your comments and support. It means so much to me!

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara**

* * *

Kurt hadn't fallen back asleep, just as he expected. He was getting ready to roll out of bed and start getting ready for the day when his phone rang.

Whoever it was, he wasn't in the mood to talk, but he checked the caller ID in spite of himself and saw that it was Kellie calling. Letting the call go to voice mail, he decided he'd call her back and commence groveling after he'd had a chance to wash his tender, bruised face and brush his teeth. But the phone began ringing again immediately.

Kurt's heart began to pound out of control as he scrambled for the phone. They'd talked about this. They promised each other that if either ever called back right away, the other would answer no matter what. It meant that something was happening with Mikey. It might have seemed like a silly rule for a couple of teenagers, but when those teenagers were parents to a missing child, it didn't seem so silly anymore.

Kurt fumbled slightly as he picked up the phone, pressed the answer button and finally got the phone to his ear.

"What happened? What is it?" he nearly screamed in the phone. An outside observer may have thought he was angry at her, yelling like that, but Kellie knew that wasn't the case.

"Turn on your television to Channel 2," Kellie said. "And then get here as fast as you can."

Kurt didn't have time to respond before she hung up, but he didn't care. She was crying but she sounded hopeful, excited even. Throwing his phone down, he ran downstairs as fast as he could.

* * *

Cassidy Brocke's head and feet were killing her. She'd partied way too hard the night before, telling herself for once it was okay to let loose and have a little fun. Cassidy worked so hard, especially lately with all the hubbub over the missing Westerville boy. At first, everything had been new and (she hated even thinking the word, but it was true) exciting, but now after a month's time, her daily reports were becoming more and more mundane. In fact, on Friday, during the staff's weekly meeting, they'd discussed scaling back to reporting live every other day. They would re-evaluate in the weeks following.

But then her phone woke her up at eight that morning. Not early, by normal standards, or even her own, but after the night she'd had, they might as well have called her four hours earlier. And now, as she smoothed down her hair and checked her lipstick one last time in the small compact that stayed in her overcoat pocket, her heart pounded as she realized she was about to deliver news known only to a few people to the entire world.

"Heads up," Roberto, her cameraman shouted. Cassidy closed her mirror and slipped it back in her pocket, tugging each sleeve down and readjusting the microphone in her hand in anticipation. "You're on in five, four, three…"

"_We've got Cassidy Brocke on the scene at the Rawlings' house to bring us a breaking development in the story of missing three year old, Mikey Rawlings. Cassidy?"_

Cassidy waited patiently for her cue as she listened to her introduction from the studio anchor buzzing into her ear.

"Yes, Sandra" she finally spoke, looking intently into the camera lens. "We have just received word from the Westerville Police Department that they have had contact from a man claiming to have knowledge of Mikey Rawlings' whereabouts, at least until this morning. According to initial reports, a man by the name of Jeremy Hern claims that he and his wife have had Mikey in their care for nearly three weeks now. Mr. Hern stated that when he woke up this morning, his wife and Mikey were gone."

Cassidy dropped the microphone slightly as the station switched to a pre-recorded interview she'd done with the sheriff of Westerville just fifteen minutes prior. The sheriff was re-instituting the Amber Alert for Mikey, only this time they had much more to work off of. A description of not only the car he was travelling in, but the woman he was with. Cassidy heard the beep in her ear, which gave her a three second warning that she was about to be back on the air.

"It's important to point out that this Amber Alert has been issued nationwide. Marianne Hern is believed to be travelling either south or east from her home in West Virginia and is considered to be armed and dangerous. If you or anyone you know happens to see a black Honda Accord, West Virginia license plate reading "NVK 3002," we urge you to contact 911 immediately. Sandra?"

As the broadcast switched back to the station anchor, Cassidy removed the bug from her ear and limped back over to Roberto.

"Rough night?" he smirked, eyeing her up and down. She was used to it.

"Rough morning," she corrected. As much as she wanted to crawl back into bed, she knew today was an important day in her career. She wouldn't want to miss it for the world.

* * *

"Oh my God," Carole gasped. She was the first one to speak. Tears started to cloud her vision as she looked between her husband and sons. The three men seemed to be in shock. Kurt took it a step further and looked like he was going to throw up.

"Kurt? Son?" Burt asked him tentatively. "This is….this is really good news."

That statement broke the floodgates for Burt, Carole and Finn. They began hugging each other and hugging a still stunned Kurt, tempering their excitement with whispers of "it's not over just yet," and "at least we know he's alive." Kurt remained still and staring straight at the television.

"Kurt, please say something," Burt tried again, putting his hands on his son's shoulders. The weight of his hands seemed to knock out of his daze. At least at first.

"Well my, my, what delightful news!" he chirped, wiggling out of Burt's grasp and fluttering to the other side of the room. "That poor boy and all he's been through! I simply _can't_ imagine!"

It didn't take long for the other three to figure out what was going on. And it couldn't have been worse timing.

"Gina," Burt finally grumbled. "Long time, no see, listen, are you hanging around, or…?"

"Now, now you big oaf," Gina smiled, coming back across the room to pick imaginary lint off of Burt's shirt. "Is that any way to treat a guest?"

"We don't have time for this," Burt turned around and spoke to Carole, completely ignoring Gina. "We have to get over to Kellie's house."

"Let's just get everyone in the car and hope Kurt comes back in time," Carole suggested. It was a ballsy plan at the very least, and no one discussed what to do if Gina was still with them by the time they made it to Westerville. Or, heaven forbid, Conrad.

"Good idea," Burt agreed, knowing they were taking a huge risk. "Everyone in the car in five minutes."

"Five minutes?" Gina asked innocently, her hand trailing through her sleep-tousled hair. "I can't possibly put on a sundress and stockings in five minutes, let alone put my face on."

"Five minutes," Burt reiterated simply, but Gina could tell he was serious. She hmmphed softly before turning on her heel and heading back upstairs to Kurt's room.

"Run up and grab some of Kurt's clothes while she's in the bathroom," Burt said quietly to Finn. Finn nodded and followed up the stairs behind her. Once Finn and Gina were out of sight, Burt turned to Carole with fresh tears in his eyes.

"I can't believe this is happening," he whispered. "I thought Mikey was—"

"Me too," Carole answered, cutting him off. Neither wanted to say the word. "I just hope Kurt comes back in time. We really need him to be here."

"I know," Burt agreed. He and Carole stayed in their tight embrace until they could hear Finn and Gina coming back downstairs. Burt was relieved to see that Gina was dressed (reluctantly) in Kurt's clothes, although, she apparently used her five minutes to "put on her face." Finn trailed behind her with a not-so-covert duffel bag.

"I'll go grab my make-up wipes for the car ride over," Carole whispered, patting her husband on the arm. She didn't miss the look Gina shot her as she passed.

"Alright," Burt said, clapping his hands once and rubbing them together. "Let's go!"

And with that, they were off to Westerville, nerves buzzing with excitement and anticipation. Well, except for Gina who kept trying to get the group to sing The Farmer in the Dell with her.

_Please, _Burt prayed to no one in particular as his hands gripped the steering wheel._ Please just give us Kurt back for this._


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N:** Hey everyone. I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've updated. Real life kind of got in the way, and I just haven't been able to concentrate on writing lately. I hope you forgive me. I will do everything in my power to see this through to the end, and not take years to do it. Thank you for sticking with this (and me). You have no idea how much your support means to me.

Thanks as always for reading

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara**

* * *

"Kurt, wake up!"

Kurt heard his father's voice before he felt someone shaking his left shoulder, though if the grogginess he felt was any indication, the carful of people had been trying to wake him up for quite a while. Looking around, he saw his father and Carole in the front and Finn beside him all looking at him tentatively.

"What's going on and why are you all—oh my god," he interrupted himself as the mornings events started to leak back into his memory. "What are we doing? Why are we stopped? We need to get to Kellie's!"

"Calm down, son," Burt said forcefully, but in a calm voice. "We're right around the corner, but we had to wake you up and make sure Gina was gone before we got there."

"Gina?" he asked, a hand going up to touch his cheek almost involuntarily. His skin felt slightly tacky, which surprised him. He was expecting his face to be caked in foundation like it usually was after a visit from Gina. Kurt looked over at Finn, who held up several wadded, makeup coated face wipes. A blush grew over his face as he shrugged sheepishly.

My how the roles have reversed, Kurt thought to himself dryly.

"Well, I'm here now, let's go," Kurt ordered impatiently. He knew he sounded bossy, but if his dad didn't get that car moving immediately, he was fairly certain he would get out and just run to the house himself. From the looks of it, they were already in the subdivision and sure enough, as soon as his dad rounded the corner, the cul-de-sac which housed the Rawlings' home came into view.

The number of emergency vehicles, news vans, and onlookers cars piled into the circular drive was astounding. Burt settled for parking about five houses away. Kurt was out of the car and running before the engine was even turned off, ignoring Carole's calls to hold on for a moment.

As Kurt ran, reporters began to swarm around him. While they didn't know the exact relationship that the mysterious boy had to the case (the police chose not to release Kurt's role in the whole mess to the media), they knew he was important somehow, and they wanted answers. Little did they know, Kurt probably knew less than even they did, since it had been a good two hours since he'd heard the initial news break.

Finally Kurt was able to squirm through the crowd and make it through the tiny crack in the front door that Kellie held open for him. He huffed that his parents and Finn were right behind him and they waited for the family to pile in before slamming the door shut again.

"Has anything happened? Have they found him?" Kurt asked, his words choppy and rushed in-between gulps of air. Kellie and Kurt watched as Burt, Carole and Finn joined Kellie's mom in the living room, leaving the two of them alone in the foyer.

"Nothing yet," Kellie answered. She paused briefly before launching herself into Kurt's bewildered arms and hugged him so tightly Kurt coughed involuntarily for breath. "He's alive, Kurt! I knew it! I knew it all along!"

Kellie's unbridled joy was contagious and Kurt began laughing over her shoulder as he finally hugged her back.

"They're going to find him right?" she asked, pulling away from him so that she could look him in the eye. "My baby's coming home, isn't he?"

For all of her former confidence and stubbornness in believing that Mikey was alive, it seemed she desperately needed reassurance now. For once, Kurt felt comfortable in providing it.

"Yeah," he smiled at her. "He's coming home."

* * *

_Twelve hours later_

"Can I get another coffee?" Jeremy Hern asked the cop sitting across the table from him. It had been a long day and judging by the amount of interrogation he was facing, it was going to be a long night as well.

He was already under arrest for a slew of charges, that had happened hours ago. The cop read him his Miranda warning and asked if Jeremy wanted a lawyer present for continued questioning, but Jeremy waived that right. He knew he was screwed. He faced a laundry list of charges and if he was being completely honest with himself, he felt that sitting in jail for the rest of his life would be justice served.

Jeremy wasn't sure why it had taken him so long to realize just how wrong the whole situation with Mikey had been, but now that he had, he was completely disgusted with himself and with Marianne. How could this have happened? How could everything have spiraled so far out of control? All he wanted was to make sure that Mikey got back to his parents safely. Nothing else mattered to him at that point.

"Does your wife have a passport?" the detective asked him for what felt like the hundredth time, seeming to ignore his request for more caffeine.

"Not that I'm aware of," he answered again, continuing to explain that it was possible though, since he worked during the day and she stayed at home. She could have secured one for herself without telling him. But what good would it do her? She wouldn't have been able to get one for Mikey, not without proper identification documents. It wasn't until now that it dawned on Jeremy what the detective was alluding to.

"No sir," he said without prompt. "Marianne would never hurt this child. She wouldn't—"

"Well Mr. Hern," the cop cut him off. "You and your wife stole an innocent child away from his home with the help of a couple of convicted felons, is it so farfetched to believe that she would murder Mikey Rawlings and leave the country to escape prosecution?"

Jeremy flinched as the detective spit the offending words out. Jeremy knew his assessment of Marianne's possible reaction to this whole mess was off, but he knew it would be pointless to argue. Instead he sat back and watched as another officer came into the room with a fresh cup of coffee for him. Someone from behind the two-way mirror in front of him must have taken mercy on him.

As the second officer left, the first one began to grill him again. Jeremy took a sip of the lukewarm coffee and closed his eyes for a moment of respite before continuing to answer the questions that hopefully would help find Mikey Rawlings and bring him home.

* * *

Marianne's knuckles were white against the steering wheel as she drove. The entire time they had been on the road, she never let more than two seconds pass before glancing in her rearview mirror to check on her Jordan. He slept on and off, his initial fear and bewilderment from their early morning escape having worn off hours ago. At the moment he was awake.

The child was a quiet one, not unlike her own baby had been. Every now and then during the ride, she tried to engage him in games of I Spy or seemingly never-ending rounds of "The Wheels on the Bus," but Jordan was a hard sell. Sometimes it would appear that he was searching outside his window for whatever Marianne was "spying," but mostly he just stared straight ahead silently.

_He just needs time_, Marianne assured herself. It was growing late, and she knew they would have to stop somewhere for the night. She's been smart to get a large amount of cash from an ATM near their house early that morning. She didn't want to leave a credit card trail.

She still wasn't quite sure where they were going, or what they'd do to survive once they got there. Marianne would have to change their names, she imagined. Maybe they could find a shelter for women and children until she could find a job. Whatever happened, getting caught or going home were never options. Neither could happen because both would mean that Jordan would be taken away from her and she couldn't let that happen.

It was while she was musing about her options that she noticed the blinking blue police lights ahead of her about a half mile up the road. Her heart started to beat wildly as she looked helplessly for a turn off of the highway before she reached the commotion ahead.

"Calm down, Marianne," she whispered to herself. "He probably just pulled over a speeder."

Even as she said it, she knew she was wrong. As she came reluctantly closer, she saw that it wasn't one police car, but five, stretched across the highway, blocking both directions. As she looked up to check on Jordan in the rearview mirror, her eyes caught the glare of at least three more police vehicles surround her from behind. This time even Jordan turned around in his seat and craned his neck.

"It's okay, Jordan!" she chirped, false happiness staining her words. "Don't be scared, we'll be on our way soon!"

But she knew it was over. As her car rolled to a stop, she turned off the engine and unbuckled her seatbelt, stepping out and putting her hands behind her head as the gruff voice on the bullhorn instructed. She was knocked to her knees as officers swarmed around her, reading off her charges and handcuffing her roughly.

"Jordan! It's okay Jordan! Listen to Mommy, alright? Be a good boy for Mommy, now!"

Mikey began to cry as his door was opened and a paramedic scooped his little body up from the seat. His soft tears turned to howling as he finally let the weight of his fear from the past month fall hard on him. He was surrounding by good guys, the ones he'd pointed out to his real mommy and teacher from his picture books. They were speaking gently to him, as the bad woman's voice faded into the background.

"Are you ready to go home, Mikey?" a policeman asked him as the paramedic checked his stomach and legs for bruises.

All Mikey could do was cry harder. He was afraid if he didn't answer the policeman's question that he wouldn't get to go home, but try as he might, he couldn't form the words through his tears. Instead, he sucked in a deep breath of air and nodded his head.

"We're gonna get you home, son."

Mikey allowed the officer to give him a hug and found deep comfort in the man's strong grasp. Sniffling into his shoulder, he was only barely aware that the man was carrying him away to an ambulance that was waiting to take him to the hospital to be checked out.

The last thing Mikey remembered was staring into the kind officer's eyes as they bounced along in the back of the ambulance. Finally feeling safe, Mikey fell into the deepest sleep of his life.


	25. Chapter 25

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara.**

* * *

_One month later_

Blaine lay in bed awake, the sun slowly creeping in through the blinds. He held up his hand, contemplating the striped effect the shadows painted upon it. It had been like this for a while now, he's wake up long before his alarm, even on Saturday mornings such as this one. He wasn't sure why. He tried staying up later to force himself to sleep in, but instead he woke up earlier and just spent his days exhausted.

It was the weekend before winter break and Blaine was surprised that he had actually managed to pass all of his semester finals. Not because he hadn't had the time to study, but because he seemed to spend hours staring at his textbooks without actually absorbing any knowledge. But somehow he'd not only passed, but done so with flying colors, landing himself at the top of the dean's list and putting himself in serious contention for the much-sought after and enviable prize of valedictorian.

Not that Blaine cared. Sure, maybe deep in the back of his mind, the part that worried endlessly about his parents' approval, he cared a little, but his mind was otherwise occupied as of late.

It had been about a month since his fistfight with Conrad and he hadn't seen or talked to Kurt since. Kurt hadn't been back to McKinley since that weekend, not even coming back to pick up his stuff. Even though Blaine had no idea what he would even say to him, he'd held out hope until two weekends ago, when Finn and Burt Hummel had shown up to gather his belongings, stopping only briefly by Blaine's room to explain that Kurt wouldn't be coming back to Dalton.

Blaine winced as he remember the way Burt had looked at him standing in that doorway. He knew without a word that Burt knew what happened that night with Conrad in the parking lot and he clearly was not happy about it. He could also tell that Kurt had put all the blame on himself, which made Blaine feel even worse than he already had. Sure, Conrad had thrown the first punch, but hadn't Blaine pushed him to it? And really, hadn't that been the reaction Blaine had been hoping for?

After Finn and Burt left, Blaine knew it was over and it left him feeling strangely empty inside. Until then, he'd held on to a small glimmer of hope. He'd read the papers, watched the news, and wanted so desperately to call Kurt and tell him how overjoyed he was that Mikey was safe and sound and back home where he belongs. He watched Kurt on the evening news, tears filling his own eyes as Kurt shed happy tears over the son he never knew existed. He wondered daily if Kurt and Mikey were bonding, if, with this whole mess over with, the transitioning had finally stopped for good.

He had so many questions. So many, he feared, that would never be answered because he was too chicken shit to simply pick up the phone.

_He doesn't want to hear from you_, the nasty voice inside of Blaine's head said every time he started to dial Kurt's number. _You're the last person he'd ever want to talk to._

So Blaine didn't call or text or facebook or anything, he just…tried to move on, which was definitely easier said than done.

Blaine felt the bed shift as the boy who lay beside him turned over in his sleep. He threw a heavy arm over Blaine and nuzzled gently into his neck. He was so unlike his usual, wakeful self when he was unconscious. So much more pleasant.

Suddenly, the weight of the boy's arm became unbearable and Blaine began to feel more than a little claustrophobic. He needed to get out of that room, away from him. He just needed to think. Wiggling his way out of the boys loose but heavy grip, Blaine moved slowly and quietly so as not to wake him.

"Where are you going?"

So much for an unnoticed escape. "Out," he said.

"Out where?"

"Just…out for a while. I'll be back."

"You promise?"

Blaine let the door to his room close on his words, knowing he'd be back to sleep in a matter of seconds. He was almost disgusted by the brief conversation, how clingy the other boy had sounded. It didn't escape Blaine that he and Kurt had been this way with each other, and then it hadn't been clingy, but cute. This wasn't cute. This was rebound blown way out of hand.

And with Sebastian Smythe, of all people.

* * *

Blaine walked around campus for a few hours, ear buds in, volume maxed out, trying to kill time. Finally, at what he felt like was a decent hour, he made his way to his dorm room. The one he hadn't slept in in weeks. He knew Nick had been taking advantage of the situation by sleeping over there more nights than not and he was fairly certain last night would have been no different.

Sure enough, when he knocked softly at his own door, he was greeted by not only his roommate Jeff, but by Nick as well. Both looked sleepy and suspicious. Jeff had his arms folded tightly across his chest.

"Can I come in?" he asked, feeling sheepish about requesting access to his own room.

"Depends," Jeff answered sharply. "Are you still fucking Sebastian?"

"Jesus, Jeff," Nick scolded his boyfriend softly. "Calm down, it's his room too."

Reluctantly, Jeff stood aside to let Blaine squeeze into the room. He'd come with the intention of talking to his two best friends, and while he knew they were upset with him, he didn't realize the extent to which that was true. Now he just paced around awkwardly while the couple watched him in silence.

"Well? Are you?" Jeff finally prompted again. Apparently it hadn't been a rhetorical question.

"What? Yeah, I don't know, maybe," Blaine mumbled. "Why do you care who I sleep with anyway?"

"I don't care who you sleep with," Jeff answered in a bitingly mocking tone. "As long as that person isn't Sebastian. You can sleep with anyone else in the whole universe, I don't care. But Sebastian, Blaine? Do you hate yourself that much?"

"Jeff," Nick warned again. The look on his face seemed to indicated that he'd just ingested some bad sushi, which is to say, how it always looked in confrontational situations such as the one he currently found himself in.

"What makes you think I hate myself?" Blaine asked, ignoring Nick's vague plea for peace and finally stopping and looking Jeff straight in the eyes.

"Oh, I don't know," Jeff retorted, feigning deep thought. "Maybe you feel guilty for what happened that night at the Lima Bean, maybe you feel like a coward for not even trying to apologize to Kurt for this entire mess, or maybe, just maybe you haven't quite realized that fucking Sebastian Smythe is scraping the bottom of the barrel."

"Enough!" Nick yelled loudly, causing both Nick and Blaine to jump. "Jeff, that's enough."

With that, both boys were silent, Blaine distracting himself by clearing off the mess on his bed and Jeff looking away guiltily.

"Look, Blaine, we just miss you, okay?" Nick continued. "You haven't been you for a long time now, not just in the last month, but for a long time. We're worried about you."

"Don't worry about me," Blaine said, trying to sound nonchalant but instead he sounded like he was issuing a challenge.

"Too late," Jeff added quietly from across the room. His tough love approach hadn't gotten him very far.

"Well what am I supposed to do?" Blaine asked, flopping down on his bed.

_Why do I feel like we've walked down this road before? _Jeff asked himself_. Oh right, because we have. _ "Maybe you could try calling him."

Blaine actually snorted.

"Well what else is there to do?" Nick asked, his saint-like patience being put to the test once again. "He's in a good place right now, maybe if you just try—"

"Try to get back together? I don't think so."

"Try to talk to him," Nick corrected. "You can't just expect to go from zero to power couple overnight again, Blaine. That's not how real life works."

Blaine thought about what Nick said. It was so simple. He'd been trying to think of how to build the pyramid in one day instead of focusing on putting each brick in place. Of course he and Kurt wouldn't be a couple. Not for a very long time at least. It was going to take work, he was going to have to take risks—

"You have to break up with Sebastian," Jeff pleaded, as if he could read Blaine's thoughts.

Blaine didn't respond. He was too busy brainstorming. Too busy planning how he was going to find his way back into Kurt's life.

Jeff was right though. If any of his plans were going to work, he would have to dump Sebastian. Of course, that would be the easy part. Picking up the phone to call Kurt after all this time?

That was a whole different story.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N**:Well, this is it everyone. I'm so, so sorry that I made y'all wait so long for this chapter. I wrote and rewrote this ending about a hundred times in my mind before I was finally able to get this down on paper. It was so hard to end this story but I feel like it's the right time and I'm happy with how it turned out. I hope you are too.

Thank you so much for reading and for your patience with this story and with United States of Kurt. It's been quite a journey :)

**I don't own Glee or United States of Tara**

* * *

Blaine tapped his foot nervously as he waited for him to arrive. Blaine knew he was early, very early, but every minute that passed felt like an hour. Looking at his phone, he took a deep breath as the time changed over to one o'clock. Kurt should be there any minute.

It had taken a massive amount of courage for Blaine to pick up the phone and call Kurt after his conversation with Nick and Jeff. Kurt had seemed a bit surprised to hear from him and their conversation had been short and awkward. Blaine wasn't sure who was more uncomfortable. Somehow by the end of the brief chat, Blaine had managed to invite him to coffee, to talk in person.

So now, a week later, Blaine waited. He knew Kurt well enough to know that he wouldn't be late. Sure enough, the second he looked up from his phone, he saw Kurt walking through the front door of the Lima Bean. Immediately his heart started pounding and all of the things he'd planned and prepared to say completely left his mind.

Kurt looked tired, worn out even. But perfect still. Blaine couldn't take his eyes off of him and all of the sudden he wondered how in the world he'd been able to substitute Sebastian for what he had shared with Kurt and expect it to even come close.

There was something else in Kurt's features that Blaine noticed as he finally found Blaine from across the room and began walking toward him. It was something he hadn't seen in Kurt's eyes in quite some time, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was. Still curious, he stood up and offered a nervous half-smile as Kurt approached.

"Hey," Blaine greeted shakily, moving forward as if to hug Kurt out of habit, but halting abruptly and awkwardly when he realized that he probably shouldn't.

"Hey," Kurt greeted back, waving his hand in a small wave. He sounded just about as uncomfortable as Blaine felt.

"Um, have a seat?" Blaine asked. This was torture. He waited for Kurt to pull out his chair and sit before reclaiming his own. He pushed Kurt's coffee over to him. He'd ordered it ten minutes earlier, knowing that Kurt liked his coffee cooled off a bit before he would take that first, tentative sip.

"Thank you," Kurt said, grabbing the drink. "You didn't have to—"

"I've really missed you," Blaine blurted out. "A lot."

Kurt sighed, as if he knew this moment was coming sooner or later. "Blaine—"

"No," Blaine interrupted him again. "Please just let me talk. I've been a complete idiot. That night when…the last time I saw you…"

"The last time we were here together?" Kurt offered with a small smile. Blaine winced. He'd somehow forgotten that this was the scene of the crime, so to speak. Come to think of it, he hadn't been back since that night and he wondered if Kurt had been either.

"Yeah," Blaine answered. "I was way out of line. I just…I was so angry and overwhelmed and stressed out about everything that I…I don't know, I just wasn't sure what I wanted anymore."

"You told me you loved me forever," Kurt said with a quiet sadness in his voice. "That nothing would ever change that."

"I never stopped loving you," Blaine answered quickly, almost angered by the suggestion that he had. "Not for one single second."

"Then why did you leave?"

Blaine bit the inside of his cheek. Was it he who left Kurt? This whole time he'd been convincing himself that it had been the other way around. Kurt was the one who'd abandoned him, right? He'd been the one with all the distractions, with everything else in his life taking such precedent. He'd been the one pushing Blaine away, hadn't he?

But then it hit Blaine like a ton of bricks. Kurt was scared. That whole time, through everything, all the stuff with Daniel and then finding out the connection to Mikey and Kellie, through all of it, Kurt was terrified. He didn't know how to handle it. Blaine hadn't either, but he could have been there for Kurt. He didn't have to leave so willingly.

"I made a huge mistake," Blaine said quietly, almost too quietly to hear.

"I pushed you away," Kurt acknowledge, sounding guilty, staring at his coffee cup as he spun it slowly around in circles on the table. "I'm sorry about that. I didn't know—"

"There's nothing for you to apologize for," Blaine said, rescuing Kurt from his own, undeserved guilt. "It's me, I'm the one who should apologize."

Kurt thought about it for a moment. His life was so different now than it had been just a few months prior. Mikey was home safe, the people involved in his abduction had all been caught and arrested. Right now it was the calm before the storm. It would be several months if not longer before they would have to start worrying about court dates and testimony, meetings with attorneys and so on. Right then, Kurt was simply trying to adjust to being a father for this small, bright, beautiful little boy that seemed to just fall into his lap from some heaven he was starting to believe in.

"It's water under the bridge," he finally answered. "And I'm ready to move on if you are."

Blaine nodded. His heart stopped beating quiet so hard, but he knew the next hurdle was fast approaching.

"I need to be honest with you about something," Blaine continued, not wasting any time. It was like pulling off a bandaid, and the sooner he got it over with, the sooner he could resume taking normal breaths. "I've been seeing Sebastian."

"I know," Kurt answered. Blaine almost spit out the nervous sip of coffee he'd taken just moments after his pronouncement. "Nick told me."

_That bastard_, Blaine thought to himself, making a mental note to punch his friend later.

"I can't really blame you," Kurt went on. "Apparently there's some small part of me that thinks he's quite the catch as well."

Kurt smirked and Blaine knew he was referring to the debacle between Sebastian and Daniel earlier in the school year.

"I ended it. Last week, after we talked on the phone."

Kurt nodded, unsure how to respond to this bit of news. If he had been paying attention to such things, he would have noticed the small, almost undetectable leap of his heart at this news.

"So what are we doing here, Blaine Anderson?" Kurt finally asked the question of the hour. "Don't get me wrong, I'm always in the mood for coffee, but it's been over a month since we've seen each other. So much has changed."

Blaine drew a deep breath. This was it. This was the moment he'd been anticipating and dreading all at once. It was now or never.

"I want to be with you," Blaine stated bluntly. "I miss you and I never wanted to stop being with you. I know I don't deserve it but I want a second chance. I need it."

Kurt knew better than to correct him. He wasn't sure what "chance" it would be, but he was certain they were beyond second. He'd known all along that this was coming, that this was what their whole reunion was about, and he had prepared for it. But now that the time had come, he wasn't as sure about his response as he'd hoped he would be.

"I miss you too," he said tentatively. "And I never stopped loving you either. But….there is so much baggage here, Blaine. I can't go through another break up with you, I just can't."

Tears started to gather in Blaine's eyes as he realized for the first time just how much it would hurt him if Kurt rejected his plea. He needed Kurt more than he'd allowed himself to believe over the past month and now he was so close he could almost touch him, but at the same time, still so far away.

"Kurt, I promise you, if you give me this chance I will not let you down again."

Kurt could hear the conviction in Blaine's voice.

"It's not just me," Kurt heard himself say, his voice becoming gravelly. "It's Mikey and Kelly, it's Gina and Conrad and Jamie, it's Finn and my dad, it's all of us. We're all in this together."

"I know," Blaine acknowledge. "And I know that I'm going to have to prove myself to all of them all over again. I'm willing to do that, Kurt, I _want_ to do that. Just please, please give me another chance."

Kurt watched the boy he loved struggle so hard to keep himself together in front of him. He was so scared of letting Blaine in again, and he felt guilty that Blaine was bearing all of the blame for their destruction. He'd played no small part in the disaster himself. He knew that Blaine was waiting for an answer and he knew that every second that passed without one was pure torture for the other boy.

As he opened his mouth to speak, he prayed he wasn't making a huge mistake. But the moment the words started to tumble out of his mouth, he knew he hadn't.

This was right. This was home where he belonged.

* * *

_Four years later._

"Watch out!" Kurt called out, coming around the kitchen island with a beautifully roasted turkey. The kitchen was cramped, but not bad for a first apartment. Blaine leaned toward the counter where he was slicing vegetables for the salad to let Kurt pass by with the oversized bird.

"Smells amazing," he said, taking a deep breath before returning his attention to the cucumbers and tomatoes in front of him. "I still can't believe Gina let you handle this on your own."

"We made a deal," Kurt admitted, wiping the light sheen of sweat from his brow. "She gets to pick out the curtains for Mikey's bedroom."

"Well, I'm glad I was included in this decision," Blaine remarked with mock offense. Kurt smacked him lightly on the butt with a pot holder, which threatened to be the start of a small food fight before the doorbell rang.

"Ooh, someone's here!" Kurt chirped, dropping the potholder on the counter and running to the front door. Blaine smiled to himself and continued chopping. He heard Kellie's voice and the small, stomping feet of her and Kurt's child bounding through the apartment.

"Hey you!" Blaine exclaimed when Mikey came beaming into the kitchen. Blaine couldn't believe how fast the seven year old was growing. He had Kurt's height and grace, but his big personality was all Kellie's. He was a perfect mix of the two and despite Blaine's sometime aversion to small children, he was truly enthralled by this little boy.

"Hey Blay!" Mikey greeted him with a big hug. The nickname that Mikey had given him at their first, tentative meeting had stuck and Blaine knew that he would forever be Blay.

"Grampa and Gramma are here," Mikey announced, even though Blaine could still only hear Kellie talking to Kurt in the foyer.

"Oh yeah?" Blaine asked, brushing a little dusting of snow off of Mikey's jacked before helping him wiggle out of it.

"Yeah, they parked right behind us," Mikey added. As if on cue, Blaine heard Burt Hummel's booming voice come from the direction of the front door.

"Well go say hi and I'll be there in just a second," Blaine instructed and Mikey bounced off happily.

Blaine smiled as he watched him leave, shaking his head slightly before turning to the sink to wash his hands.

* * *

All in all it was Mikey's favorite Christmas. At least, it would be until the next one. He'd loved all of his presents. His daddy and Blay gave him a new bike without training wheels, Gina gave him an Easy Bake oven and he insisted on making cake for his family that night. Jamie gave him some rocks for his collection and Conrad gave him a homemade slingshot and a slew of fireworks that his daddy quickly confiscated.

Mikey loved his family and was old enough now to know that it was unlike his friends families, but he wouldn't have it any other way. What other kid could say they had so many people who cared for them and loved them as much as his family did. He had his mommy and daddy, Blay, Gramma and Grampa, Uncle Finn and Aunt Rachel, not to mention his daddy's alters who were so funny and who loved him and who taught him things he never knew about before.

His memory about what had happened when he was three was starting to fade. He didn't know it yet, but one day those memories would be so distant that the whole thing would feel like a dream, or like a story he'd read once in brilliant and horrifying detail. There would come a time where he couldn't remember life without his daddy and Blay, but for now, Mikey was content to play with his toys, allowing the adult chatter around him to fade as he concentrated on making sure his cake didn't burn and arranging his rocks in a colorful pattern.

That night he would go to bed in his special bedroom at his daddy and Blay's apartment, tucked in tight with hugs and kisses and feeling safe and warm.

Life was good for Mikey Rawlings-Hummel.

* * *

**That's it, folks. Thank you again so much for reading. I've enjoyed reading your responses immensely. Thank you for your support over the months!**


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